ORNITHOLOGY 
75 
GONE. 
little home for them under the wood- 
shed with a large dry goods box and 
some poultry wire. 
They grew rapidly and became more 
interesting each day. I fed them raw 
meat and pieces of chicken heads and 
mice cut in pieces, including the bones. 
As they grew older they were able to 
swallow mice whole, as the accompany- 
ing photographs plainly show. Two 
of the owls became quite tame indeed, 
coming to me when called, flying very 
silently with their soft feathered wings. 
They would light on my hand or coat 
sleeve and sometimes shoulder, coaxing 
for food. Sometimes I put a mouse be- 
tween them so that each got hold. Then 
they had a real tug of war, pulling for 
all they were worth, chattering and 
scolding at the same time. The win- 
ner flew away at once and soon swal- 
lowed the prize. I never saw the loser 
give chase, but it began looking and 
coaxing for another. Once as a variety 
to the diet I tried a live crawfish. It 
was soon killed and swallowed in two 
parts. A live bullfrog proved a nov- 
elty. Holding the frog in its claw, the 
owl bit or pinched it over every part, 
finally killing it and then swallowing it 
headfirst, the legs sticking from the 
mouth for about fifteen seconds. A 
June bug was also eaten. 
I never knew the owls to take a drink 
of water. One old guide told me it 
would kill them to give them water and 
that all they require is the blood and 
juices of mice, etc. 
After feeding, the birds would gen- 
erally get sleepy and sitting close to- 
gether on a limb, slept peacefully. If 
disturbed they opened their eyes just a 
little, seeming to say, “Don’t bother 
me.” If really alarmed, as they some- 
times were by dogs, they opened their 
eyes wide and snapped their bills 
loudly, giving a cry of alarm. If they 
saw a dog or a cat coming they sat up 
and drew themselves together, becom- 
ing as small as possible so as not to be 
seen. They looked very much out of 
shape and ridiculous. An owl under 
such circumstances might well be 
called a scarecrow bird. 
Owls with their howls make many 
men growl. It is said to be bad luck 
to have an owl hoot near-by when some 
one is sick in the house. Like all old 
superstitions it rarely comes true ! 
The cuts for this article are lent to 
us by that wonderfully good camera 
magazine, “Photo-Era,” of Boston. 
Red Clover. 
BY RAY H. GROSS, PHILADELPHIA. 
How often when in happy boyhood’s days 
I drove the cows through shady lanes to 
graze 
In dewy pastures, we’d startle from its nest 
Woodcock or plover; 
Or hear the squirrel scold, or blue-jay’s cry, 
See timid rabbits run as we trudge by, 
Then — bars are down, and little calves at 
rest, 
Stand deep in clover. 
Its memory follows me throughout the 
years ; 
The picture of that sunlit field appears 
To my glad vision, as I weary fare 
Through earth a rover. 
I throw my window wide, the dawn to greet, 
And through the heated air of city street 
Imagination brings the perfume rare 
Of sweet red clover. 
What though the hair is silvered on my 
brow. 
And steps once firm are growing feeble 
now; 
Rich recollections of the past abound 
When youth is over. 
And when the vale of shadows is in sight 
I’ll rest more sweetly in the quiet night. 
If on the mound above me, and around. 
Grows the red clover. 
