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NOVEMBER NATURE-STUDY 



361 



Burs. — November is the month when most of the mother plants 

 hasten to send their seeds forth so that they may nestle to the earth 

 before the coming of the snow. A collection of those seeds that 

 catch hold of the passerby, properly labeled and mounted upon a 

 card, make an interesting exhibit. After a walk in the fields, our 

 clothing may give us such a collection of "pitchforks" and beggars' 

 ticks and burdocks. Each specimen should be studied to discover 

 how many seeds it contains, and by what means it catches hold. 

 These "tramp babies" should be examined through a lens in order 

 to understand their cunning. While a lens is not absolutely 

 necessary in Nature Study, it is a great help often. A lens, chained 

 to a desk in the schoolroom, is the safest way to inaugurate the use 

 of this instrument in Nature Study. 



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Bird-jeeding Stations. — In Novem- 

 ber, especially about Thanksgiving, is 

 just the time to begin giving the 

 birds food, and thus showing our 

 friendliness. The simplest way to begin 

 is to tie beef -fat to branches or to tack 

 it to the side of a tree in the neigh- 

 borhood of the schoolhouse. Beef- 

 fat is better than suet as the latter crumbles so quickly. A 

 feeding shelf may be any sort of a shelf fastened to the side 

 of a tree or set on a pole. However, it is better to place a roof 

 over the shelf to protect the food from rain and snow. Dimensions 

 and drawing plans for feeding shelves may be had by sending to the 

 U. S. Dept. of Agriculture at Washington, D. C, for Farmers' 

 Bulletin, 609. Sunflower seeds, unbaked peanuts, hemp seeds and 

 millet are the most attractive seeds that we can offer to the birds. 

 An important point in locating a feeding station is to place it 

 where it may be observed without disturbing the birds. 



The Chickadee and Nuthatch. — These two fascinating birds will 

 probably be the first to visit the feeding station. Their resem- 

 blances and their differences offer the best illustration possible for 

 teaching the children to observe closely ; and to help them to form 

 an intimate acquaintance with a chickadee is giving them a 

 permanent source for future happiness. I speak with feeling, for 

 I was three years old when I first made the acquaintance of this 

 fascinating birdling, and through a long life, the chickadees have 



