The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
455 
nice story about it, but I do uot think of 
any to tell now, and I think- that you 
would just as soon have me write about 
our brook instead. 
One day when my sister and T were 
down at the brook combing our hair my 
sister said. “Look !" and she pointed tip 
above my head. I looked up nud saw a 
little bird. It was a redstart, and it was 
the first time we ever saw one to know 
it. Perhaps you wonder how we knew 
it then. Well, we had been studying 
about birds, and that is bow we happened 
to know it. I suppose it enme to the 
brook to drink. 
Your loving friend. 
Massachusetts, eleanou iiart. 
Eleanor and her sister were ready for 
the experience with the redstart, and it 
meant a lot to them. There is a lesson 
here for all of us who love the outdoor 
life and want to know more and more 
about it. This glad Spring season is the 
best of all times to become friends with 
birds and trees and flowers and animals 
and all the life of woods and fields and 
farmyards. Nor must we forget the 
brooks and streams, They are full of 
life themselves, and they attract many 
creatures to share their cool freshness. 
Who will write a story about "The Life 
of a Brook*’ for Our Page? Take some 
brook that you know and have spent 
hours beside. Where does it come from? 
Where is it going?- What does it do on 
its way? What changes do the season 
bring? What creatures live on it and in 
it and beside it? Imagine you are a drop 
of water traveling along in the brook an 1 
tell your experiences. That will make 
interesting reading! ' 
What Is It? 
The new Nature Puzzle conies from 
Gwendolyn Goodman, an 11-year-old 
Pennsylvania reader. When you answer 
send a story about it. 
This bird is about the size of a robin. 
The upper parts are black, brown and 
buff. The under parts are yellow and 
Riley, His Father and Fnrlc at Hie End 
of a Coon Hunt 
the neck has a scarf of jet black. The 
tail feathers are white. They live in 
open fields, preferring short thick grass. 
( and living much upon the ground. The 
nest is built in a tuft of grass and usually 
contains four to six eggs, which are 
white, spotteil with brown. This bird 
lives mostly upon insects and is of great 
value on the farm. 
. News and Views from Oregon 
As I read The Rural New-Yorker 
and like it fire, especially the Roys’ and 
Girls’ Page, 1 thought I would try to 
do my part to make this the best page to 
be found in any periodical, though 1 must 
confess that I bad much rather enjoy 
reading the letters than to try to write 
one. 
I am If) years obi. rather large for 
my age. am in the eighth grade and like 
school very much. 1 am especially in¬ 
terested in history and geography. I like 
to draw also. Our farm is situated on 
Beaver Creek, and just IP. miles from 
its continence with the Columbia River. 
I have a little launch named the "Grey 
hound." It has a three horsepower 
motor and 1 can make eight miles an 
hour, even when the tide is against me. 
It is just 53 miles to the Pacific coast, 
and I go down to the beach during Sum¬ 
mer and Fall and camp. There are thou¬ 
sands of campers at Ocean Beach each 
Summer, and most of them treat me very 
nice aud kind. 
I was back East with my father last 
Fall, and I was surprised to find the 
country so different, though I think most 
of the country which 1 saw was very 
pretty. We were in the States of New 
York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode 
Island. New Jersey, Ohio. Kentucky, 
West Virginia. Virginia. Tennessee and 
North Carolina. < >f course we passed 
through other States, but those are the 
ones we visited. In going we went via 
tho Santa Fe Railroad from San Fran¬ 
cisco to Chicago, the tit'e via the Big Four 
to Cincinnati, thence via (lie Chesapeake 
& Ohio to Richmond, Virginia. Well. I 
could not tell of all our travels; it would 
take too much space. We camp back by 
way of the Oregon Short Line, through 
Ohio. Indiana. Illinois. Iowa. Nebraska. 
Wyoming. Idaho and Washington. 
Yes. I was glad to be buck home. I 
like my evergreen hills. The Summers 
are always cool and the Winters always 
mild. We have the Japanese current 
(Chinook wind) here in Winter, which 
warms the air and tempera the cold 
storms that cross the high Cascade 
Mountains. Beaver Creek is famous for 
its trout and bass. big. gamy fellows. I 
fish a great deal. I have a camera and 
have a fine collection of photographs of 
this country, some of which I am en¬ 
closing. We can see Mount St. Helens 
and Mount Rainier from our porch. Mount 
Rainier is 160 miles back in Washington 
from the Columbia River. Mount St. 
Helens is 65 miles distant. T have some 
sketches of those two mountains which I 
made last June while we were camping 
at Spirit Labe at the foot of St. Helens. 
Those mountains, as you probably know, 
have snow - covered peaks the year 
through. It would require a page just 
to describe this one camping trip. 
Oregon. hi ley ray. 
Riley has made a fine contribution to 
Our Page It is wonderfully interesting 
to read about his part of the country, 
which very few of our renders have ever 
seen. We envy him the chance he has 
had to visit so many places in our great 
land, and hope that by and by he will 
write again and describe that "camping 
trip.” Riley was generous with his pho¬ 
tographs. two of which you will see on 
this page. I wish every boy and girl 
could see the original of, this letter, so 
carefully, neatly and accurately written. 
If Riley keeps a level head On his shoul¬ 
ders and his love of nature and an out¬ 
door life he will grow into a strong, use¬ 
ful man._ 
Maple Sugar Time 
Two years ago I asked our readers to 
write descriptions of how to make maple 
sugar. A number of you sent letters, 
which I have kept ever since. Then when 
this interesting drawing came from Robert 
Thorburn of Massachusetts., a few days 
ago. I thought we really ought to use it 
and a couple of those letters. So here 
they are. aud in addition I want to thank 
Elsie Rich. Alfred llohrciter and George 
Reynolds,* New York readers, for whose 
description there was no room.. 
You asked us to describe bow maple 
sugar is made. We bore two or three 
holes in the tree and drive in spigots and 
put buckets under them. The sap runs 
out into the buckets, and then we take 
it and put it in a sap pan aud boil it 
dow ik to syrup. It takes about a barrel 
of sail to make n gallon of syrup. There 
are about 7 lbs. of sugar in a gallon of 
syrup, I hope this is a good description 
of how to make sugar. 
Your faithful reader. 
Pennsylvania. DONALD FRASBR. 
Two years ago we lived on a farm 
where they owned a sugar bush. It con¬ 
tained about 400 trees. In early March 
we tapped the trees and hung sap pails 
on little spouts. When the pails were 
full we took a mud boat and placed a 
large tin barrel or gathering tank on it. 
Then when it was full we went to the 
sugar shnuty. There we placed the sap 
in a large storage tank which was con¬ 
nected with the evaporator. The evap¬ 
orator is a long narrow stove, with four 
or five pans on top. Then we built a 
large fire. After a long time we tested 
the syrup. If it was ready to take off. 
we emptied it into two long, slender bar¬ 
rels. After it was cool we poured it into 
gallon cans, which we sold to our custo¬ 
mers. JAMES LOWE (II years). 
Michigan. 
For a few minutes let’s settle down in 
The Book Corner 
Our plan of giving the names of three 
good books and a poem each month and 
of having 150-word write-ups on them 
from readers is working out better all 
the time. One girl says: "I have just 
finished writing down the names of the 
books you gave us to read in a note book, 
and when I get a chance to read those 
I haven't, you can bet I will." Those of 
you who keep such a record will have a 
fine list at the eud of the year. So far 
we have given eight titles. Here are 
four more: 
“The Story of the Bible.” by Jesse L. 
Ilurlbut. 
"Little Citizens.” by Myra Kelly. 
“Tbo Burgess Bird Book.” by Thorn¬ 
ton IV. Burgess. 
Poem: "Paul Revere.” by Henry W. 
Longfellow. 
If you have read any of these or can 
read one soon, send the story of what it 
is about, written in your own language, 
in not more than 50 words. This month 
there are three write-ups from readers 
and one given by the lady who is helping 
your editor choose the best books. 
TWO LITTLE CONFEDERATES 
By Thomas Nelson Page 
The two little Confederates lived on a 
Virginia plantation. Their father was 
against secession, but went with the 
South. Frank and Willy didn't know 
the danger when their father and brother 
enlisted. They cried because their mother 
looked so pale They played borne 
guards and hunted for deserters. Their 
mother gave nearly all the food to the 
soldiers. Then the boys made a trap and 
caught some wild pigs. When their 
brother. Hugh, and Gene ral Marshall 
visited the plantation the Yankees tried 
to capture them. The boys hid them, and 
wouldn’t tell where they were, though the 
Yankees threatened to shoot Frank. One 
Yankee was very kind to them. Later 
they found him dying and brought him 
water. Their mother had him buried in 
the garden. After the war his mother 
came hunting for Ills grave, and they told 
her about his kindness. Their father and 
Hugh came borne safely. 
Dorothy fisher (11 years). 
New York. 
A write-up on this book was also re¬ 
ceived ffom Jeanette Larson. New York. 
heroes of today 
By Mary R. Parkman 
This book tells in brief the life stories 
of a number of the men of our day who 
have achieved great things. Jacob Riis, 
the boss reporter of New York City, 
came from Denmark, a poor lad. and 
cleaned up the tenement district known 
as Mulberry Bend. Edward Trudeau 
discovered the open air cure for tubercu¬ 
losis. S. I\ Langley, though not suc¬ 
cessful. invented the henvier-rhnn-air fly¬ 
ing machine. There are the stories <<f 
Herbert C. Hoover, whose great talent 
for organization brought bread to starv¬ 
ing millions: of Goethals. the "Man of 
Panama": of Captain Scott, the second 
man to reach the South Pole, and the 
bravest of the brave: of John Muir, who 
saved California's big trees; of John 
Burroughs, who was so loved by all who 
love the out-of doors: and of the "Deep 
Sea Doctor.” Wilfred Grenfell, who has 
done so much for the people of Labrador. 
MRS. M ICE SMITH FISHER. 
AMONG THE FOREST TEOPLE 
By Clara D. Pierson 
"Among the Forest People” is a good 
name for this book, because it tells about 
the ‘‘people” who live in the forest, which 
makes it interesting. The red squirrel, 
gray squirrel, eowhivd, rattlesnake, great 
horned owl. screech owl. crows, red¬ 
headed woodpecker, weasel, bluejay. but¬ 
terflies, night moths, bees, kingbird, 
mourning dove, quail, rabbit, bat, ground¬ 
hog. mole, wild turkey and robins are the 
most important things it tells about. The 
robin, enwbird, kingbird aud mourning 
dove go South every Fall, and come back 
in the Spring. The other birds stay all 
Winter, aud sleep in the trees, buildings 
or on the ground. The groundhog and 
rattlesnake go to sleep in the ground 
every Fall and sleep until Spring. This 
is a good book to read, because it helps 
in nature study. myrtle dean. 
New York. 
Millie Beatty, New York, also sent a 
write-up for Ibis book, and asked whether 
“Among the Pond People" and “Among 
the Night People,” by the same author, 
are as interesting. Who knows? 
a boy’s mother 
By James Whitcomb Riley 
In this poem the boy says: “My 
mother’s good to me even when I am 
bad. She says she loves nm even when 
she punishes me. I don’t like her to 
whip me. bur it don't hurt, but what does 
hurt is to see her cry. and it makes me 
cry. She loves me when she sews and 
cuts out my clothes, and when my father 
comes home she loves him as much as 
me. She laughs and tells my father 
what I said, and grabs me and pats my 
head, and I hug her and my father, and 
I love him almost as much as my 
mother.” MARION LAN FEAR. 
Vermont. 
Odds and Ends 
Of course you all guessed that the first 
“nut to crack” last month was your edi¬ 
tor’s name. The second is shown solved 
Mabel Planned Her Garden in the Spring 
on the opposite page. I am glad to say 
that I received nine right answers. 
Isabel Henry, New York, made the 
pretty drawing and verse for the head¬ 
ing. “A Future Reader” is Leon Stiles 
of Central New York, whose grandmother 
seut his picture. Frances Dobbin of 
Maine seut the rushing brook (we would 
love to bear its music), and Prof. Robert 
H. Smith, whose uame you will find in 
this paper at the head of the page on 
"Farm Mechanics.” sent the picture of 
Mabel Stores to remind us to plan our 
gardens now. The others you know 
about. 
I know that you are all very busy with 
the coming of Spring, but don’t forget 
to write to your friend and editor, Ed¬ 
ward M. Tuttle, in care The Rural 
New-Yorker. 333 West 30th St-eet. 
New York City. 
The Columbia River, One Mile Wide. The Boat Shomi is the "Rose Uity,’ > Bound 
from Portland to N,. a f, uncisco 
