WAYS OF THE OWL. 
3 1 3 
channels of least resistance are used, and the greatest amount of 
labor performed with a given amount of energy. 
As long, therefore, as physical exercise is grossly neglected, 
and unpsychological methods of teaching remain in general use, 
disease must continue in abundance, though ever so many im- 
provements be made in sewerage, ventilation, and disinfection ; 
for, as our argument has shown, attempts at prevention will in 
great part remain ineffectual until good systems of physical and 
natural methods of mental development have been introduced 
into the schools. 
hi^I^XL! h, 3 ^ , /m 
WAYS OF THE OWL. 
By FRANK BOLLES. 
OHSTCE June, 1888, I have had in my possession for longer or 
FO shorter periods eleven live owls, including snowy, great- 
horned, long-eared, barred, and screech owls. I have also had op- 
portunities of watching Acadian and screech owls in a wild state. 
In June, 1888, 1 secured two young barred owls from a hollow beech 
tree in a White Mountain forest. I have them still after three 
and a half years of happy companionship. During the first sum- 
mer they were pets not easily petted. They used beak and claws 
fiercely and resented familiarity. I kept them in a large slatted 
cage in my barn, where they had plenty of air and light. They 
bathed freely and frequently. They ate largely of animal food. 
They were awake by day, restless at twilight, but profoundly quiet 
by night. They could see perfectly in bright sunlight, and better 
at night than most creatures. In the autumn I took them to Cam- 
bridge, where they were given a large cage in my cellar. During 
the winter I handled them more and more freely, beginning by 
using stout leather gloves, but soon stroking and rubbing their 
heads with my bare hands. They became more and more gentle, 
and I found that even when they nipped me with their beaks they 
did not attempt to cause serious pain. One of them, whose name 
is Puffy, injured his wing early in his captivity, and has never been 
able to fly. The other I keep clipped in one wing. In the spring of 
1889 I began taking Puffy with me on walks. I found at once 
that he was wonderfully useful in attracting other birds. During 
the summer of 1889, the following winter, and the summers of 1890 
and 1891 he was my companion on walks, drives, and trips in my 
Ituskton boat. To a smaller extent I have taken his mate Fluffy 
with me, but he is of a less patient disposition than Puffy, and 
during a long walk is sure to hop from the stick upon which 
I carry him many more times than Puffy would in an equal period. 
In May, 1891, 1 secured a third baby barred owl from the same beech 
