EDITORIAL 213 



"Knowledge, never learned of schools, 

 Of the wild bee's morning chase, 

 Of the wild flower's time and place. 

 Flight of fowl and habitude 

 Of the tenants of the wood; 

 How the tortoise bears his shell, 

 How the woodchuck digs his cell, 

 And the ground-mole sinks his well ; 

 How the robin feeds her young, 



How the oriole's nest is hung; 



* * * 



For, eschewing books and tasks. 

 Nature answers all he asks. 

 Hand in hand with her he walks, 

 Face to face with her he talks." 



and out of this personal contact, saturated with feelings and 

 emotions, develop life-long interests, permanent impressions, and 

 an inspiring sense of reality. 



Books and pictures have their place, but it is not that of so 

 thoroughly displacing the bird itself. Let us begin and end with 

 the bird. Growth stimulated by the use of the former is apparently 

 more rapid, but it is not mentally the most healthful. Nature, 



after all, is the best teacher. R. E. Wager. 



* * * 



You may be interested to know something about two of the 

 contributors to this issue. 



Mr. Carpenter, whose article on the tern has interested you is 

 by profession a preacher; by avocation a student of birds. For 

 twenty years he has been devoting his spare time, and we dare say, 

 some not so spare, to the study and photographing of the birds of 

 the marsh. He talks very interestingly about his experiences. 

 His home is in Elgin, 111. 



Mr. Oldys contributes the article on bird songs. He was for 

 some time connected with the Department of Agriculture at 

 Washington, and became interested in the songs of birds from the 

 musical side. These he has learned to imitate in a very realistic 

 fashion. He is now devoting his time to writing and lecturing, 

 with a reputation growing apace. His home is at Silver Sirring, 

 Md. 



