FEEDING THE BIRDS. 187 



in a ridge 250 feet high beside the Hot Spring valley and 

 is described b}^ Dr. D. D. Owen as " equal in whiteness, 

 closeness of texture, and subdued waxy lustre, to the most 

 compact forms and whitest varieties of Carrara marble. 

 Yet it belongs to the age of the millstone grit." It is sup- 

 posed to have received its impalpable fineness through the 

 action of hot water on sandstone. 



Queer Creek is the name given to a fine, gray sandstone 

 from Ohio. This is hard as a sandstone and is used for 

 about the same purposes as the Washita though it is some- 

 what softer than the latter. Its market value is less, as it 

 is a cheap grade of stone. 



From Lisbon, N. H.. comes a w^hetstone of verj- fine 

 mica schist or micaceous shale containing fine crystals of 

 garnet or rutile. These crystals give it its abrasive quali- 

 ties, in which it ranks high. It is regarded by those who 

 quarry and prepare it as the best stone for general purpos- 

 es in the market. It is given the commercial name of 

 Chocolate. 



At Pike, N. H., is quarried a scythe stone known as In- 

 dian Pond. This is a fine grained mica schist, the small 

 particles of quartz giving it rapid sharpening power. This 

 stone is probably the best known scythe stone in the Unit- 

 ed States. It has been on the market since 1823. 



Feeding the Birds. 



A duty that every subscriber to Nature Study and 

 every lover of nature owes to our feathered friends is the 

 providing of a lunch on these cold days. Comparatively 

 few of the seed eating birds come near enough to our dwel- 

 lings to profit by our generosity, and grain thrown out 

 wall be eaten mainly by English sparrows, but this would 

 not be objectionable to the champions of these noisj' neigh- 

 bors of ours. A beef bone or a piece of suet tied in a tree 



