1872.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
187 
3B©YS ©©WMTOo 
Tlie Boys and Girls’ Pictures— 
More Prizes Offered. 
When one has made a mistake, he should acknowledge 
it. I admit that I made a blunder about the boys and 
gilds’ pictures. I said that the time during which the 
stories could be received would be up May 1st. As the 
paper for May goes to press about the fifteenth of April 
you will see that I can not announce the awards until 
next month. I am very sorry for it, but I really intended 
to put it so that they could appear in this number. Let 
us have patience. There is such a quantity of letters, and 
they keep coming every day, that it will be a fine task to 
read them all. 
Now, while we are waiting, let ns be doing something. 
We wish to have another competition in progress, and 
what shall it be ? I have it. Girls first. I wish from the 
girls a list of the flowers they have seen during the month 
of May. Prom the girls in the country I shall expect lists 
of wild-flowers. Those who live in towns and villages 
may, if they prefer it, put down cultivated flowers, hot 
wild and garden flowers must not go upon the same list. 
Choose whether you will hunt up the wild ones, or prefer 
to name those that grow in your own and other people’s 
gardens. Use the common or botanical names, as you 
prefer. In making up the awards not only will numbers 
be considered, but accuracyin spelling. It is understood 
that the list is to contain only the flowers that the writer 
has seen. Mind, it must include only plants that are 
actually seen in flower. 
Now for the boys. Boys do not generally care 
much for flowers, I am sorry to say, and I must set 
them at some livelier work. Young gentlemen, we 
will have from you a list of all the native wild animals 
you have seen during the month of May, exclusive of in¬ 
sects. Birds, quadrupeds, snakes, lizards, etc., may come 
in, but no “ bugs." This gives the country boys a great 
advantage over town-dwellers, and we must allow those 
who live in cities and towns to take their choice, and if 
they can not go often into the country to see the wild 
birds and quadrupeds, they must make lists of domesti¬ 
cated ones. As these lists will be very much smaller than 
the others, if a boy chooses to put down the tame ani¬ 
mals only, he must then tell what country they originally 
came from. 
Now, boys and girls, the object of this is to induce you 
to use your eyes and your tongues. If you do not know 
the name of a plant, a bird, or other object you wish to 
include in your list, ask some one who does. Try and get 
the right name, and then to write it down correctly. Re¬ 
collect that these observations are to be continued during 
the month of May, and the lists must reach mo by the 
fifteenth of June. The prizes for these will be books 
—good, new, and useful ones. The publishers are very 
liberal in such matters, and I shall give at least six 
books among the boys, and as many among the girls, 
making due allowance for ages. Now look at the oiler 
for the prizes in March. The same conditions about 
writing, giving name and age, etc., mentioned there, will 
be observed now. In the story prizes, those with tire 
liveliest imaginations had the best chance, but now the 
matter-of-fact youngsters, who go about with their eyes 
open, have something suited to their tastes. So, 
girls, start after the flowers, and, boys, “ stir up the ani¬ 
mals,” and when you have found out all that the month 
of May can tell you, do you tell it to The Doctor. 
Add resses Wanted. —Letters sent by 
“ The Doctor ” to Miss Mary Ross, Iowa, and Edmund D. 
Redd, Va., have been returned from the post-office. His 
letters were directed according to the addresses given 
by them. Some mistake, children. 
A Boys and Girls’ Bird-House. 
We call it a boys and girls’ bird-house, because any 
boy with ingenuity can make it for his sister, or the two 
can own it in common. The drawings were sent by J. 
L. Hyde, Pomfret Landing, Ct., and there was nothing 
to show whether Mr. J. L. H. is one of our boys, or one 
who was a boy once. At all events, we are much obliged 
for his bird-house, and will tell you how he makes it. 
The foundation of the house is any convenient-sized box, 
such as may be had at the stores. A piece is nailed to 
each end, cut to the slope it is desired to have the roof. 
As the roof is to be thatched, it had better be pretty steep, 
as it will not only shed the rain the more easily, but the 
house Will look better. The upper end of the pole which 
is to support the house is made square ; it passes through 
a hole in the bottom of the box, and extends far enough 
above the ridge of the roof, to form the chimney. A 
ridge-pole is then passed through the upright pole and 
the end-pieces, as shown in figure 1. Places for the win¬ 
dows are to be cutout, but the door may be only a dummy, 
and painted black. Birds are not very particular how 
they enter the house, and will go through a window just 
as well as a door. As we wish the house to have a pleas¬ 
ing appearance, we must cover it so as to represent a log- 
cabin. For this purpose small branches of any straight, 
easy-splitting wood are to be cut of the proper lengths, 
and split lengthwise, as in figure 2. These, with the bark 
on, arc then to be fastened by small nails all over the ex¬ 
Fig. 1. —FRAMEWORK OF BIRD-HOUSE. 
terior of the house, as shown in figure 3. The roof is then 
to be thatched, and though Mr. n. draws it as done, he 
does not tell how to do it. We should tic the straw into 
small bundles with twine (tarred would be best), making 
them long enough to reach from one side of the house to 
the other, and to project well over to form the eaves. 
Then we should nail the bundles, one by one, to the 
upper edges of the box, and bind them at the top to the 
ridge-pole, by means of twine. The bundles must be 
crowded up close to one another, to prevent leaking. If 
this way of putting on the straw does not work, you can 
no doubt hit upon some other that will. The house may be 
divided up to accommodate several families. The lower 
Fig. 3. —BIRD-HOUSE COMPLETE. 
story may be so partitioned as to form four rooms, with 
an entrance-window to each, and the garret can have a 
division across it, and make two rooms, which can be 
entered by windows in the gable ends. The appearance 
of the house will be much improved, and it will stand the 
weather better, if the wood has a coating of painter’s oil. 
Birds will like a house of this kind better than they 
will the showy-painted tilings that are often provided for 
them. When the house is in place, you can put “ To Let ” 
on it, if you choose, but the birds will come just as soon 
without it, and it is very amusing to see the little things 
out house-hunting. The enjoyment of a bird-house may 
be much increased, if 
you put in some quiet 
place near by a plenty 
of such materials as 
the birds use in mak¬ 
ing their nests; cut 
hay, locks of wool, old 
curled hair, shreds and 
ravelings of cloth, 
feathers, and the like, 
will all be acceptable. 
We had nearly forgot¬ 
ten one thing. The 
whole affair may be made much more ornamental by 
setting some climbing plants at the bottom of the pole. 
A hop-vine will grow very quickly, and make a fine mass 
of green. If strong strings or wires are attached near the 
top of the post, and their other ends fastened to pegs 
driven into the ground, you can plant morning-glory 
Fig. 2.— SPLIT STICK. 
seeds, and soon have a fine pyramid of vines, which in 
the early morning will be covered with flowers. 
Aunt Sue’s Puzzle-Box. 
CROSS-WORD ENIGMA. 
My first is in want but not in need. 
My next is in oats but not in feed. 
My third is in snow but not in rain. 
My fourth is in wheat but not in grain. 
My fifth is in pink but not in black. 
My sixth is in nail but not in tack. 
My seventh is in good but not in nice. 
My eighth is in rats but not in mice. 
My ninth is in corn but not in rice. 
My tenth is in once but not in twice. 
My whole is a man well known to fame. 
And a city, too; now tell the name. 
Ella E. Fargo. 
DIAMOND CROSS-PUZZLE. 
1. A vowel. 2. Time past. 3. Something lean and thin. 
4. Not assisted. 5. Having power to reduce. 6. Delight¬ 
ful. 7. A husbandman. 8. An appeaser. 9. Serving to 
introduce. 10. To support by food. 11. Indian corn. 
12. To request. 13. A consonant. 
The central letters, horizontal and perpendicular, name 
an admirable production. R. T. Isbester. 
pi. 
Raley ot edb dan alrye ot sire 
Liwl kearn a ram liayleth wayleth dna wesi. 
Snicker. 
SQUARE WORDS. 
1. 'Perform. 2 Black. 3 Repeat. 4 Murder. 5 Music. 
2. Square the word “ CROWD.” 
Star and Crescent. 
PUZZLE. 
Take the names of two kings and half of another (all 
mentioned in the Bible), and transpose the letters into 
the name of a water-fowl. F. W. Hall. 
DECAPITATIONS. 
1. Behead a boy’s name, and leave a vessel. 
2. Behead a boy’s name, and leave part of the body. 
3. Behead a girl’s name, and leave a boy’s. 
4. Behead a girl’s name, and leave a tribe. 
5. Behead a bird, and leave a measure. 
6. Behead something good to eat, and leave the boy 
who might eat it. H. H. 
GEOGRAPHICAL ANAGRAMS. 
1. Laity. 
2. Planes. 
3. The scorer. 
4. Males. 
5. By revel. 
G. Rent not. 
7. Worn key. 
8. Sob not. Harry. 
NUMERICAL ENIGMA. 
I am composed of 11 letters. 
My 3, 8,1, 5, is a kind of trimming. 
My 7, 10, 11, 9 is a despicable character. 
My 4, G, 9, 2, 3, is a marine production. 
My whole is the name of a flower. C. L. S. 
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE MARCH NUMBER. 
Numerical Enigmas. — 1. Contentment is a gem 
beyond a diadem. 2. Something nice to work. 
Blanks. —3. Ate, eight. 4. Hugh, hew. 5. Idle, idol. 
6. Colonel, kernel. 
alphabetical arithmetic. 
342)SG953(254 (Key. “ New codfish.”) 
Anagrams— 8. Restaurant. 9. Euphemism. 10. Agri¬ 
culturist. 11. Impatience. 12. Pertained. 13. Grenadier. 
14. Disparagement. 15. Satisfied. 16. Continual. 17. In¬ 
considerable. 
Cross-Word. —Hattie. 
Pi,_ What’s the use of always fretting 
At the trials we shall find, 
Ever strewn along our pathway ? 
Look ahead, and never mind. 
SQUARE WORD. 
SOAK 
ONCE 
ACRE 
KEEP 
big boys and girls need not read this. 
Willie n. K. says, “ I wish I knew how to make out 
those numerical enigmas.” Why, bless your dear little 
heart! come and sit down by me, and I will tell you all 
about it. First I will make an easy one for you: 
I am composed of 17 letters: 
My 11, 2, 13, is yourself. 
My 5, 3, 8, 4, is what yon like to read. 
My 6,1G, 9, is what you hear with. 
