410 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [12:9-Dec M 1916 



ancient Aztecs ; when the Spaniards conquered Mexico they were 

 much impressed by this magnificent bird and introduced it into 

 Spain. From Spain it gradually spread along the shores of the 

 Mediterranean Sea, and in the course of a century or two reached 

 Turkey. Here, the English found the bird and introduced it 

 into England, giving it the name of the country in which they 

 found it. From England it was introduced into the American 

 colonies, and thus found its way back to its original home. The 

 wild turkey, common in our southern states, is a different species 

 and has never been domesticated. 



English Walnuts and Pecans. — These are obviously Christmas 

 topics. The way to study these nuts is to compare each with the 

 hickory nut: compare the shells of the two outside and inside, 

 and the way they fall apart; compare the kernels in shape and 

 size; note the sprout, the point of germination. The pecans 

 flourish in the Gulf States and accounts of them may be found in 

 the tree books. The English walnut is grown in southern 

 California. The study of these nuts should be correlated with 

 geography. - 



Sirius. — On Christmas Eve, a little after seven o'clock, we too, 

 have a wonderful star in the East to remind us of one that led 

 the Shepherds of old. It rises, a great, white, blazing star, after 

 Orion is high in the eastern sky, and a line drawn through the 

 belt of Orion and extended to the horizon, will pass directly 

 through this star. Sirius is the most brilliant of all stars in our 

 sky. It is the great dog star, and it shines with changing colors 

 sometimes blue, sometimes rosy or white. Of course, Sirius 

 like all the true stars, is a great blazing sun and has a diameter 

 fourteen times as great as that of our own sun. The ray of light 

 which meets our eyes from this star started eight and one-half years 

 ago. Sirius is the most celebrated star in literature. All the 

 ancient people knew it, the Egyptians worshipped it, Homer sang of 

 it. It is mentioned in the Bible and it has been an object for 

 poets to write about through all the ages. For a study of the 

 dog-stars, use lesson p, 899. For supplementary reading, Chap. 

 XIV in The Friendly Stars by Martin. 



