201 
the: bbue: jay. . 
The sun had completed its great journey across the heav¬ 
ens, and now sank slowly below the western hills, as I 
faced homeward after a day full of events and early spring 
signs. 
The Blue Jay. 
BY BERTIE: M. PHIBBIPS. 
About a week before Christmas I observed a blue jay in 
a neighb q ing yard and thought how nice it would be if we 
could secure him and his mate for a daily visitor through 
the dreary winter. So, arming myself with a plentiful sup¬ 
ply of crumbs, I crossed the road and under the tree where 
I first saw him I scattered a few crumbs and as I retraced 
my steps, dropped a few more and when I reached the win¬ 
dow boxes of my own home I covered two of these with the 
remaining crumbs—as tempting a feast as any bird could 
wish. 
I did not see any more of him that day, but the next 
morning he came to my window, very shy indeed, at first, 
just alighting for a morsel and then away to a neighboring 
tree, to devour it more leisurely. The next day another 
came and soon another and anoth er till in less than a fort¬ 
night I had ten of those feathered beauties that breakfast¬ 
ed at my window every morning. 
Then began, in earnest, my study of the blue jay. I had 
always been his friend and could not believe many of the 
scandalous stories told of him. First, I studied his tastes, 
and found him quite a epicure in his way. He cared but 
little for corn and oats and mush of any kind he would not 
touch but pieces of toasted bread and bits of fat were his 
especial dainties. One day I put on the boxes some scraps 
from leaf lard and suet with bits of toast. Two of the birds 
that morning took pieces of the bread, thrust them into the 
