The Audtiben Note Book. 



93 



leaving his music and his manners at home, should be- 

 take himself to the North, with companions in flock, 

 all plump and delicious for a potpie, he might fare 

 no better than the robin at the South; and then the 

 traveler from Virginia or Georgia or Florida, en- 

 countering niockingbirds on New York hotel tables, 

 would have good ground to suggest, as our corres- 

 pondent does, that the residents of one section of the 

 country should spare the birds dear to the people of 

 another section. When the Audubon Society shall 

 have accomplished its mission, all useful and beauti- 

 ful birds will be protected everywhere, and like all 

 citizens of a common country, enjoy security and im- 

 munity when they take a notion to travel. 



MY PET RATS. 

 Rats are considered as vermin, and justly so. But 

 I have a regard for every creature, and having noth- 

 ing better to do, cultivated rats. I have a pair. Tiny 

 and Tim, who afford me a good deal of amusement. 

 They live in a box on my table, and are very clean 

 and sociable. I find, after a good deal of observation, 

 that the female is the more mischievous. The male 

 is content to sit alone, and let his better half go 

 foraging, keep house and do things generally. She 

 stows away food for him, and he contentedly helps 

 himself when nature prompts, but never comes out 

 unless compelled to by thirst. I make it a rule to 

 let both drink three times a day out of a cup on a 

 marble table, from which they cannot fall, as they 

 dare not jump down without measuring the distance 

 they jump up. They are very intelligent and do 

 many tricks which are easily taught them, such as 

 sitting up, coming at call, etc. Each knows his or 

 her name. Their great enemy is my setter, who 

 does not relish the attention paid them. 



Geo. p. Wesselhoeft. 



DO NOT KILL THE OWLS. 



Many years ago, when I owned a farm, owls were 

 accustomed to come to my barn in late autumn, and 

 remain in the barn during the entire winter. I never 

 allowed one to be killed nor to be frightened by any 

 one, as they destroyed more mice than a cat would 

 catch. I had been taught that owls could not see 

 during the time between sunrise and sunset. But I 

 learned by personal observation that they can see in 

 the daytime as well as I can. Here is a case in 

 point. My barn was forty feet long, having posts 

 eighteen feet high, with steep roof. I went on the 

 mow, at the south end of the barn, to pitch some 

 sheaves of oats to the barn floor. An owl was stand- 

 ing on the purlin beam at the north end of the barn. 

 The purlin beam is the highest beam in a barn, only 

 a few feet below the peak of the roof. "Whenever I 



pitched sheaves from the mow I always watched for 

 mice, which were killed with the pitchfork. On this 

 occasion, as I took up the first sheaf with the pitch- 

 fork, I saw a large mouse winking and blinking as 

 any person winks and adjusts his vision when he 

 steps from a dark room to the sunlight. But before 

 I could throw that sheaf of oats down, and get the 

 pitchfork ready to strike the mouse, that owl came 

 like a dart from the further end of the barn (not less 

 than forty feet distant), swooped down on and caught 

 the mouse, and returned to his perch. Any person 

 who is familiar with barn-mice knows that they are 

 swift of foot; consequently, if an owl must fly forty 

 feet and seize a mouse, before the little victim could 

 get ready to run away, the bird would have to fly 

 swiftly, which it did. That mouse was held in the 

 claws until it was quite dead, when the owl tore its 

 prey to shreds and devoured every part but the skin. 

 Since that time, I have always said, do not destroy 

 the owls. Sereno E. Todd. 



THE GARDEN BIRD. 



Far away in the ocean, near Australia, there is a 

 lonely island called New Guinea. It is so unhealthy 

 that only one race of Malays, with a few negroes, 

 are able to live there. But notwithstanding it is so 

 uncongenial to mankind, it is the very paradise of 

 birds, whose rare and brilliant plumage flashes in the 

 sunlight as they flit from tree to tree like living 

 gems. It is the well beloved home of all the most 

 gorgeous birds of paradise, whose vivid colors fill the 

 air with visions of wondrous beauty, as their light 

 and airy feathers, some of scarlet and some of gold, 

 float upon the breeze. 



Among all these wonderful birds is one curious 

 little jay, all clothed with blue and golden feathers. 

 It builds its nest very near the ground, and in front 

 of it erects, as a playground for itself and its pretty 

 mate, a sort of arbor, through which they run 

 and dance, spreading their wings and displaying 

 their lovely plumage. A traveler in this unfre- 

 quented island tells us that in one place he saw the 

 trunk of a tree which had fallen, and been broken 

 in the middle so as to take the form of a tent. This 

 had been appropriated by these little birds, its rough 

 bark had been concealed by long branches of green, 

 as though it were twined with living vines, and all 

 the place in front was brilliant with flowers, which 

 had been gathered from the woods and stuck into 

 the ground, making a beautiful garden in front of the 

 arbor. As soon as the flowers wilted, the birds 

 pulled them up, carried them away and decked the 

 garden again with fresh flowers from the woods. 

 Thus they have gained the name of the Garden Bird. 



C. G. T. 



