quantities of them. The investigations 

 of Professor Forbes show that in an 

 orchard which is infested with the 

 destructive canker-worm, these larvae 

 form fully seventy-five per cent of the 

 Chickadee's food. It not only destroys 

 the canker-worm but also its eggs which 

 are laid in patches and are glued to the 

 surface of the bark. One entomologist 

 has calculated that a Chickadee will 

 destrov over five thousand of these esrsfs 

 in a day. It also eats many other in- 

 sects, and when such food is not obtain- 

 able it will feed upon seeds and glean- 

 ings from our door-yards. 



The nests of the Chickadees are 

 placed either in a hole excavated by 

 themselves, a natural hole or one which 

 has been deserted by woodpeckers. The 

 nesting holes are usually in the trunks 

 of trees and seldom higher than fif- 

 teen feet above the ground. When they 

 excavate the holes themselves, trees 

 more or less decayed are usually chosen 



and they seem to be partial to the 

 trunks of the white birch. They will 

 also nest in holes in fence posts and in 

 stumps, and they have been known to 

 excavate in the green wood of tree 

 trunks. The nest hole is well lined 

 with considerable moss, wool, feathers, 

 bark fiber, animal hairs, and plant 

 down. 



Besides the well known notes which 

 have given the Chickadee its name, this 

 forest acrobat has notes which express 

 displeasure and when a flock is feed- 

 ing it frequently utters a faint tsip. 

 During the mating and breeding season 

 the Chickadees are inclined to seek the 

 seclusion of the forest and even avoid 

 the society of their fellows. It is then 

 that its sweetest song is heard, the notes 

 of which are clear and soft. This song 

 is a plaintive minor whistle uttered in 

 two syllables, the first of which is high 

 and clear, and the second is more feeble 

 and ends in a plaint. 



A GLIMPSE OF THE FERNS. 



Of all the nature studies, ferns have 

 been the most fascinating to me. The 

 birds and their homes, the trees, the 

 flowers, the moths and butterflies, the 

 shells and minerals have all been and 

 are still a delight, but for solid pleas- 

 ure the ferns surpass them all. 



It was interesting to learn that ferns 

 do not grow from the seeds as do 

 flowering plants, but that when the 

 parent plant attains maturity the spores, 

 or seed-like bodies, are expelled from 

 their cases and coming in contact with 

 the moist earth form a filmy green 

 membrane, called a prothallus, which 

 bears on the under surface the two or- 

 gans answering to the stamens and pis- 

 tils of flowers, called respectively the 

 autheridia and archegonia. Water is 

 necessary for the fertilization. When 



this is accomplished a tiny fern plant 

 at once springs up, and is fed by the 

 prothallus until old enough to receive 

 its nourishment from mother earth. 

 Then the prothallus dies, leaving a little 

 fern plant very unlike its parent. It 

 was a happy day when I first found the 

 little green membranes and taking them 

 home watched the growth of the fern. 

 In gathering ferns the first that came 

 to my notice were the Osmundas, the 

 Royal and the Cinnamon. All were grow- 

 ing very luxuriantly by a river bank 

 and fruited early in the summer. How 

 often I have pulled up the early little 

 plants of the Cinnamon Fern and found 

 in the dainty plant all the little downy 

 fronds carefully folded within. At that 

 time I used to call all Ferns "brakes," 

 as many people will insist on doing to 

 the end of their davs. I shall never 



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