10 ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 



The Naturalist had made some boxes of old lumber and had 



fitted them up for housekeeping 66 



Father Screech Owl lost his temper 67 



They were very comical little fellows with part feathers and 



part down 68 



They were much disturbed by the light, and blinked un- 

 ceasingly 69 



By this time the boys were interested in the owl family also, 

 so that there were numerous visitors to the home of the 

 birds in the box 71 



On a winter day when the sky was gray 72 



THE POLECAT 



A polecat cautiously peered around the corner .... 80 

 If he approached too near, one would stamp a front foot 



threateningly, arching the back and throwing the tail 



forward above the body 81 



It would peek at him across a limb or around the body at a 



height about on a level with his head 83 



Sometimes one would climb a tree 83 



During the day they usually remained curled up in the nest 84 

 Mother Skunk would peek out cautiously to see if the coast 



was clear 85 



The boys decided that a young polecat would make a fine 



pet 87 



The Naturalist persuaded them not to break family ties . 92 



THE MAGIC CITY 



The Magic City is the hive, and the inhabitants are the bees 96 



The Naturalist then lifted out a frame which was filled with 



comb and covered with bees 97 



The drones are big blundering fellows who never work . 98 



Most interesting of all they found the queen, the mother of 



the whole population of the bee city 99 



When the bees would rear another queen, they provide a 



very large cell, which looks much like a small peanut 100 



Suddenly there was a great bluster among the bees, and with 



a glad, new note they tumbled hastily out .... 101 



On the porch of his study the Naturalist kept a small ob- 

 servation hive with glass sides and wooden shutters . 102 



From roadside weeds they gathered a harvest of gold . . 103 



