NOTES ANG) OUR >: 

(Under this Department Heading queries relative to all branches of Natural History will be answered. ] 
TAMING WILD BIRDS. 
When young I raised many wild birds, and, 
as the time is coming for their mating and busy 
season for building and rearing their young, it 
may give some young folks pleasure to explain 
the method by which I was perfectly successful. 
I watched the nest of such as I desired to get 
until the young birds were old enough to feed 
and not old enough to fly or get scared. [then 
loosened the nest carefully, placed it in a tight 
cage near the bars, with a ledge outside, from 
which it might be convenient for the parent 
bird to feed them. The cage should be hung 
in some convenient place near where the nest 
had been located, on a tree or bush, out of the 
reach of cats. 
At first the old birds are shy, and manifest 
their disapprobation by rapid darting around 
and scolding in loud voices, yet I never found 
them to desert their offspring, but feeding them 
regularly. I would then begin to feed them, 
too, with a little sweet biscuit, berries, seeds 
and worms, or some green stuff. The old birds 
attended them for a time, finally leaving them 
to my care. There is a current idea afloat 
that, after they find their young prisoners, the 
old birds poison them. It is not so, as I have 
tested it thoroughly. After removing the cage 
to the house, the old birds, having ceased their 
care, I fed them in the usual way, paying the 
same attention to cleanliness, and carefully 
giving them fresh water for frequent bathing. 
I once raised a pet yellow bird, a lively little 
feathered creature, about the size of a canary, 
and almost precisely similar in color. The 
plumage of the male was of a bright yellow 
color; wings, tail and crown black. The 
plumage of the female was more of a brownish 
yellow. They build their nests in bushes of 
lichens cemented and interwoven together, and 
lined inside with some soft substance. They 
were very thick around the house, as they gen- 
erally are where mustard seeds are plenty. 
I learned to have confidence in giving them 
their liberty by accident. One harvest day 
mother came gut to the field and excitedly told 
me that my pet bird had escaped trom the cage, 
whieh J had set In the window of an upper 
room. I came to the house feeling sad, as a 
child would, and found my bird perched in the 
topmost branch of a high pear tree, gleefully 
enjoying its freedom. Procuring a biscuit from 
the house I called to it, and received its chirp- 
ing answer as it turned its head and recognized 
its once master. To my surprise it flew down, 
perched upon my shoulder, fed upon the bis- 
cuit, and allowed me to put it in the cage again. 
After that I gave itliberty. Nothing delighted 
it so much as to hop out of the cage on to my 
finger, fly to my shoulder, and manifest its 
great delight by stooping, ruffling its feathers, 
spreading its wings in quivering pleasure, and 
sticking out its little bill to be kissed, like a 
pouting child. 
I had it in the shop one day, hopping around, 
when it suddenly fell over as in a fit, but re- 
covered only to relapse into another while on 
my shoulder, and died in my hands. I buried 
it lovingly back of the barn, with a post for a 
headstone. W. M. Kohl. 

A FROG ON AN OUTING. 
In the early part of this summer we had a 
severe thunder storm, accompanied with a 
high wind, about sundown. The next morn- 
ing, on entering the sitting room, I saw an ob- 
ject on the carpet near the window of an un- 
usual appearance, and presumed some one had 
purchased a green rubber frog and placed it 
there for mischief. On a closer inspection I 
found it was a live frog, white belly, quite a 
dark green body and black spots ; black stripes 
across the legs; body three inches long. He 
was very lively, and I found him perched on 
the low window sill when I came back with the 
watering pot to secure my visitor. I covered 
the top with the exception of a small space for 
air, intending, after my return from the city, to 
leave him out and see if he started in the direc- 
tion of the nearest water, some distance off; 
but, before the rest af the family saw him, he 
had somehow made his escape. 
[ had often read of it raining frogs, toads, 
eic., but here | had stronger eyidence than I 
had ever heard of, as this front room was the 
second story, and a very high one, therefore ha 



