82 



THE OENITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



Below is a list of the other birds noted. 

 1. Western Winter Wren, very com- 

 mon. 

 ■'.. American Dipiaer, fairly common. 

 ;j. " Raven, •' " 



4. Common Crossbill, common. 



5. Chestnut-backed Chickadee, com- 

 mon. 



0. Gull. (giaucus-wingedP), common 

 wheTi salmon run. 



7. Gull, (Western lierring?), common 

 when salmon run. 



8. Harris' Woodpecker, faii'ly conr- 

 mon. 



i). Western Brown Ci*eeper, not com- 

 mon. 



10. Hawk, probably Pigeon Hawk. 



11. Western Golden-crowned Kinglet, 

 fairly common. 



13. Pygmy Owl, one seen Jan. 22. 



13. Sooty Grouse, heard occasionally 

 "booming." 



14. Varied Thrush, one seen Feb. 7, not 

 common in winter. 



15. Steller's Jay, met occasionally. 

 Ifi. Oregon Jay, one seen March 23. 



17. Kingfisher. 



18. Western Robin, not common. 



19. Oregon Junco. not common. 



20. Oregon Ruffed Grouse. 



21. Bald Eagle, seen twice, Jan. 10, 

 Feb. 8. 



22. Barn Owl, seen in the day time 

 near the carcass of a striped skunk. 



GOD IN NATURE. 



BY FRED E. STEARNS, SAC CITY, IOWA. 



Nature is God's own handiwork. I 

 sat down on a grassy slope one day 

 in the spring and gazed around me at 

 the mysteries of creation. It is wonder- 

 ful how many there are in a small space. 

 The lover of Nature can find a field 

 filled to abundance with interesting 

 things in the spring-time. The woods 

 and the meadows overflow with them. 



A short distance away a large black 

 ant, notwithstanding it was Sunday, 

 was making a bee-line past me to his 



home with food for his family. A hon- 

 ey-bee flew lazily past, humming a mer- 

 ry tune. Another of a smaller species, 

 was feeding upon a smart weed, and I 

 wondered what it could find in that to 

 relish. A tiny yellow flower, so small 

 it could scarcely have been noticed ex- 

 cept by close search, gi-ew by my side, 

 and I thought, of what use is this, and 

 what is it for ? My foot rolled over a 

 stone and displayed to view some snails 

 which otherwise might forever remained 

 hidden. What is their object in life, 

 thought I. A large speckled frog hop- 

 ped along a few yards away. Some 

 would think him horrid because they 

 had never stopped to examine him ; 

 I thought him handsome, and carefully 

 picked him up to tak9 horns with me 

 for a pet. A very small insect perched 

 on my finger and regarded me with a 

 knowing look, but I could not help 

 thinking, of what use are you in this 

 great creation of mysteries. 



Reader, did you ever stop to examine 

 an ant hill, such as the large black ants 

 make and which is their village with its 

 streets and houses, and thousands of 

 busy inhabitaiits hurrying to and fro in 

 confusion. The confusion, however, is 

 only apparent, and a close examination 

 will show that not only is tl\e whole vil- 

 lage in a state of regularity and method 

 but that each individual inhabitant has 

 an occupation of his own, and is attend- 

 ing to it with vigor. It bears a vei\- 

 close resemblance to a city of human 

 inhabitants, only u^jon a smaller scale 

 and I might add, an improved one. 



Many other things which it would 

 puzzle the wisest philosopher to under- 

 stand, were all around me, above, be- 

 neath and on a level. My glanse wan- 

 dered off into space, and I wondered 

 how far and where it extended. What 

 was its end ? Did you ever try to con- 

 ceive, dear reader, of anything without 

 a limit ? For a time I grew quite bewil- 

 dered in contemplating this last great 

 niYstery. 



i 



