<Pk RURAL NEW-YORKER 
861 
Ethel S., of Ohio; and Bertha E. of Penn¬ 
sylvania. 
A good many others just said “owl” but 
your editor did not feel that this was the 
real answer, because there are a number 
of kinds of owls, and none of them except 
the screech owl looks like the one Simon 
described ! 
Two letters came about this “What 
Is It?’’ from older persons, showing that 
we have other readers besides ourselves. 
* 
One friend from Rhode Island wrote: 
Screech owls are either red or gray. 
Two red ones may mate, or two gray ones, 
or a red and a gray but the young will 
be either red or gray. There are both 
sexes in both colors. 
The so-called “ears” of an owl are 
purely head ornaments, and have nothing 
to do with the true ears. The ears of an 
owl are low down on the sides of the head, 
and not only are very peculiar as com¬ 
pared with the ears of other birds, but 
are wonderfully developed. 
All owls lay white eggs. The screech 
owl usually lays four or five eggs. but. 
sometimes three or six. 
Visiting a farmer one day I noticed 
a broken-off cherry tree with a hole at 
the top. and told a boy to climb it. take 
an owl out of it. and T would give him a 
half dollar. lie said : “There’s no owl 
thre!” I told him that if he would not 
climb it. I would. lie soon wished he 
had, for I found an owl. 
Are you enjoying this nature puzzle 
part of Our Page? I think it must be so. 
because a good many of you are sending 
me puzzles to use in coming months, and 
this month there were “0 answers to the 
May question. Don’t you feel that we 
are really learning a lot? Each month 
when you know the answer to the puzzle 
send it in with a letter telling some ex¬ 
perience you have had with the thing 
described. In this way you will help 
others. When you do not know the 
answer, try to find it out. Perhaps you 
will have to wait until the next Page, 
but when you do know what it is learn 
all you can about it. In this way others 
help you. 
We have another puzzle for next month 
sent by Florence S., of Pennsylvania. It 
is very short and perhaps it is easy for 
most of you to guess, but who will tell 
us some interesting things about this very 
useful 
What Is It? 
The insects I am describing are com¬ 
mon on trees and plants and in gardens. 
They are rounded in form. Many of them 
are of bright colors ornamented with scar¬ 
let or black spots. They are of great 
service to vegetation on account of the 
number of plant lice which they destroy. 
This Month’s Drawings 
Tf you could peep into the room where 
I am writing you would see an interest¬ 
ing sight. Spread out before me are 20 
drawings that you have sent on the 
mooley cow and her wabbly calf. (What 
is a mooley cow, anyway?) I am trying 
to choose three or four of them to print. 
It. is hard work. They are very, very 
good, all of them. Fourteen are from 
girls, six from boys. The ages run from 
nine to 15. There are drawings from 
eight different States. 
Of course, I finally have to decide, and 
you will see the result on this page. Re¬ 
member, it is all original work. Maurice 
says: “I am sending you a drawing that 
I did not copy.” Isabel says: “I am 
sending you a picture I have drawn which 
I' think suits the rhyme for May. I made 
it to look like a corner of our barnyard.” 
That is the kind of work that counts 
most. 
The list of those who sent drawings is 
ae follows: 
New York State—Mary D., 10 years; 
Warren W., 13 years; Walter D.. 12 
years; Isabel IT., 13 years; Aalta E. 
Pennsylvania — Elinor I)., 11 years; 
Ruford K„ 15 years; Maurice S., 11 
years; David L., 12 years; Iva N., 12 
years. 
Connecticut — Daphne L., 11 years; 
Alice W„ 15 years; Frank T„ 10 years. 
Rhode Island — Sarah T.. 11 years; 
Helen G., 15 years. 
Michigan—Ruby S., 13 years; Dorothy 
De W. 
Maine—Gladys C., nine years. 
Maryland—Eleanor B., 15 years. 
Ohio—Ethel S., 13 years. 
I think you will all be interested in a 
letter that I x'eeeived from a gentleman 
about one of the drawings printed! last 
month. He said; 
Out in the barnyard is a sight to make you laugh, 
A big mooley cow and her wabbly little calf. 
The calf thinks it is meal time, just look at its tail! 
Take your pen, draw the picture and send without fail. 
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Drawn by Maurice S. ( II yearn) Pennsylvania. 
Drawn bu Isabel II. (IS years) New York State. 
I want to commend the drawing of hen 
and ducklings by Conrad T. in The R. 
N.-Y. of May 28. lie tells what he at¬ 
tempts to tell well and strongly, and adds 
no weak or unnecessary lines. 
Too many drawings are commended for 
their frills and trimmings instead of for 
expressing a straightforward, worth-while 
purpose of the artist’s mind. 
This is worth thinking about. We wish 
to improve in our work, of course, and 
are glad of all the help that, comes to us. 
However. I do not. want any of you to 
hesitate to send your drawings because 
you think they are not good enough. If 
they are the best you can do, they are 
good. Next, time you can do better. Prac¬ 
tice helps. If you never try you will 
never improve. 
Now for 
Next Month’s Drawings 
I have a fine rhyme sent in by David 
L., a 12-vear-old Pennsylvania boy. Here 
it is: 
kitty’s bath 
My kitty went frolicking after a frog; 
At first she espied him at rest on a log. 
She touched him to see what the strange 
thing would do; 
This made froggie jump, and kitty 
jumped, too. 
You will laugh when you see that the 
plan froggie took 
Brought them both down with a splash 
in the brook. 
Now draw me a sketch of the end of the 
race. 
When kitty went, frolicking out of her 
place. 
Isn’t that good? It just makes you 
want to snatch up your pen and draw the 
picture. Perhaps some of you will make 
a series of two or three pictures to show 
the whole story. 
I am sure your editor does not need to 
tell you that he believes this drawing 
work is one of the be«t. things that has 
happened for Our Page. Alleine S., the 
New York State girl who first suggested 
if in April, ought to be very pleased to 
see the results. Let’s keep it up. Send 
your drawings and new rhymes promptly. 
Remember there are only a few days be¬ 
tween the time you read one page and 
the time I have to make out the next. 
Odds and Ends 
A 10-year-old New York girl, Joyce M., 
sent the words for this month’s box. I 
am sure that if we all do our best we 
will have a right to be proud of Our 
Page. 
As for the pictures, Virginia B. of 
Pennsylvania, who holds the parasol, sent 
the picture of herself and her little sis¬ 
ter. Elizabeth made hay while her broth¬ 
ers were in the army, and the picture was 
taken then. She lives in Massachusetts. 
The hoy with the team was only five 
years old when he helped on the hay¬ 
fork because labor could not be found. 
Rather a big job for a little fellow, wasn’t 
it? Ralph lives in New Hampshire, and 
his birthday and the Fourth of July come 
on the same day, so he just has to cele¬ 
brate. What do you suppose the steer 
thinks about it? 
Lois G., New York, gives us something 
to think about when she says: 
“There are some people from New 
York City visiting at one of our neigh¬ 
bor’s. The little girl, who is five, had 
never picked a (lower, drank real milk, 
walked on real grass or done many other 
things which are part of the everyday 
life of a country child, until the day she 
came to the country. 
“We children who do these things every 
days of our lives do not realize how fortu¬ 
nate we are until we see a child from the 
city who has not had the advantages we 
have.” 
Of course, if Lois or any of us from the 
country were to visit that little girl in 
the city she could probabj.v show us many 
things that we have never known or done. 
Each person knows the things that he 
has lived with, and all can teach us some¬ 
thing new. But that does not change 
what Lois says. It is true that the beau¬ 
tiful. wholesome things of the great open 
country are ours every day of our lives. 
We are fortunate indeed. We should ap¬ 
preciate them and understand them and 
love them. Then we shall want everyone 
else to share our joy. This is a part of 
what Our Page is helping us to do. 
So goodbye again, and a happy vacation 
to you all. Don’t forget to write to your 
friend, Edward M. Tuttle, in care of The 
Rural New-Yorker, 333 West Thirtieth 
Street, New York City. 
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