PREFACE 



)HESE sketches and pictures are chosen 

 from my Animal Snapshots to help stim- 

 ulate school children in the direct ob- 

 servation of outdoor life. For years I have been 

 studying and photographing our friends in fur and 

 feathers in their native haunts. I have entered into 

 their lives as much as possible, in order to know 

 their habits and wild ways — how they live, and how 

 they care for their young. I here attempt no more 

 than a simple narrative concerning the birds and 

 mammals that I have come to know a little about. 

 The facts are all from my own observations and 

 experiences, except in a few instances where I have 

 drawn upon trustworthy sources. 



I am under obligations to various landowners for 

 the privilege of tramping about their fields, and in 

 many instances for valuable assistance. To the 

 boys, also, who have helped me in so many ways I 

 extend sincere thanks. 



Thanks are due the proprietors of St. Nicholas 

 and Field and Stream for permission to republish 

 articles which have appeared in these magazines. 



S. L. 



East Orange, N. J., 



January, 1906. 



