262 



Bird- Lore 



into their native haunts to resume their 

 blessed services in behalf of their greatest 

 enemy — man. 



The task of collecting the unfortunate 

 cripples is gladly assumed by the children 

 of the city and adjacent regions, who bring 

 to the hospital every disabled feathered 

 brother found. I endeavor to show my 

 appreciation of these humane services by 

 visiting the schools, taking with me some 

 of the recovered patients, and recounting 

 their life histories to the children, thereby 

 impressing upon the hearts of the children 

 a tremendous interest in bird-life and a 

 burning desire for its protection. 



The character of this delightful work 

 naturally brings us in contact with the lost 

 darlings of the home nest in the spring and 

 summer, so an orphanage was demanded 

 and provided, where scores of fledglings 

 are tenderly cared for during the season. 

 This work of rescuing injured helpless 

 birds from the claws and jaws of the heart- 

 less cat and the preferable ending of 

 existence by starvation is my recreation, 

 an antidote to arteriosclerosis, and has 



proven a mine of such inexhaustible 

 pleasure that I am fain to recommend it 

 to everyone seeking to round out his life 

 in fullest measure of usefulness and enjoy- 

 ment. 



There should be hundreds of bird 

 hospitals scattered over our beloved land, 

 for millions of birds perish annually from 

 accidents of different kinds, when a large 

 percentage might be restored to normal 

 condition if afforded care and treatment 

 in one of these hospitals. 



It is better, of course, that the conduct 

 of the bird hospital should be in charge of a 

 person familiar with minor surgery, but 

 almost any intelligent boy or girl can 

 quickly become proficient in the adjusting 

 of broken wing- and leg-bones and in 

 providing the food necessary and appro- 

 priate for the healthy sustenance of the 

 different varieties of feathered patients. 

 My records show an average of twenty- 

 five or thirty patients on hand all the time, 

 constantly augmented and decreased, 

 according to the seasonal movements of 

 the armies of birds. 



THREE ORPHANED AND STARVED BABY PHOEBES 



