176 NA TURE-STUD Y RE VIEW [17:4— April, 1921 



The witch's wand or fork, for locating water or spring, was 

 explained and trials were made. In the hands of a few of the older 

 ones the wand did "dip" ; and you know that when once it begins 

 to "dip", there is no stopping it. We had a time of wild excite- 

 ment and carried several of the forked sticks back to camp. 



One of the most difficult lessons the Nature Counsellor has to 

 impress upon young people, is to keep them from, picking the 

 flowers. The rarer they are, the harder it is to leave the flowers 

 where Nature placed them. I remember, once, showing to a group 

 the root of the Indian Cucumber. Later in the season — alas! — 

 there were no cucimiber plants to be found in our neighborhood. 

 At another time, on one of our long * ' hikes' ' , we had found a * ' bla? ing 

 star". We left it where it was, and the following season, on a trip 

 to the same place, one of the group seem.ed unduly anxious to go 

 on ahead of the party. She told me, secretly, that she wanted 

 to be the first to find the "blazing star" that we had seen — and 

 spared — the previous year. 



With bird study, the problem, is a very difficult one. In the 

 first place, we go to camp too late to see the birds as they come 

 north to find their nesting places. Again, we often see but a flit 

 of color and our bird is gone. It is very difficult to identify even 

 our com.rr.on birds from the positive, but mistaken, description of 

 color and size, noted by the inexperienced eye. A strange and 

 wonderful "red bird" may prove to have been but a bluebird or 

 robin. 



Of course there are a few birds that all may see and study: 

 swallows, phoebes, robins, wrens and others. 



An unusual experience of last simimer was when many of the 

 campers saw a "flock" of humming birds. Several of us had 

 repeatedly seen, at a certain place, as many as five together; so 

 we gave the promise of this quite unusual sight to Dr. Fisher,- of 

 the New York Museum of Natural History, who was our guest 

 for the day. We went to a bank near the water, where a great 

 m.ass of jewel weed was in full blossom, and there — exceeding our 

 fondest expectations — we saw nine himimiing birds at one time. 

 It was on this same walk with Dr. Fisher that I questioned the 

 identity of a large bird, frequently seen near the spot we were 

 passing, which I had hardly dared to call the bald eagle. To our 

 great joy and satisfaction, at this moment, the great bird flew over 

 us and, alighting on a pine tree not far away, was authoritatively 



