A FREAK OF NATURE. 203 



came to be cones, packed closely together and placed or- 

 derly in spiral rows in obedience to the tree's law of being. 

 Some of these cones are now open, but many are still shut, 

 with the seeds in them. 



The queer object which caught the eye and aroused the 

 interest of the boy naturalist is not a freak. It is rather a 

 chronicle, in which is told the story of a wounded tree 

 which did its best to make sure that there should be other 

 trees of its kind in the world when it should itself be for- 

 gotten. 



Nature Study— The Bird's Nest. 



BYO. M. MEYNCKE. 



Bird life is wonderfully interesting to children and as a 

 means of serving as an introduction to the fuller enjoy- 

 ment and appreciation of our feathered friends during the 

 spring and early summer season, when the overtures of 

 these tribes are so liberally displayed, the enterprising and 

 skillful teacher can find no more suitable material for the 

 beginning of such work than the deserted nests. A bird's 

 nest is, at first sight, a very simple and crude-looking ob- 

 ject, but it is an object entirely worthy of investigation. It 

 will be discovered that close inspection and study are re- 

 quired before its many interesting points of workmanship 

 and the purpose each serves, are revealed to the student. 



It is the purpose of the writer to call the attention of 

 teachers to this one kind of material so cheap and availa- 

 ble, at least to most of the rural district schools, and to 

 further present some suggestions and a simple outline to 

 serve as a plan in the stud)/ of birds' nests. It is impor- 

 tant to note that this work of examining the old nests now 

 is doubly enhanced, in one sense of the term, and will 

 mean much more to the investigator since it is intended to 



