10 
BY THE WAYSIDE. 
SCHOOL BRANCH DEPARTMENT. 
Every Wisconsin School Branch is required to subscribe for at least one copy of BY THE WAYSIDE 
Letters for this department should be written on only 
one side of the page, should give the name, age and ad¬ 
dress of the writer, and should be mailed by the first of 
the month, Illinois Children sending to Mrs. Wm. M. 
Scudder, 165 Buena Ave., Chicago, Ill., and Wisconsin 
children to Mrs. Peckham, 646 Marshall St., Milwaukee, 
Wis. An honor badge will be awarded for each state 
every month, preference being given to letters about the 
bird for the month (which is always on this page), and 
to original observations. Any child who wins the honor 
badge twice will receive a bird book as a prize. 
The wren button, which is the badge of the Audubon 
Society, costs one cent, and may be bought from Mrs. 
Scudder or Mrs. Peckham. 
Any Wisconsin School Branch may, without expense, 
have the use of the Gordon and Merrill Libraries of bird 
books, by applyingto Miss Bossert, Librarian,719 Frank¬ 
lin St., Milwaukee. 
A set of colored bird slides with a type-written lecture 
may be rented from Prof. W. S. Marshall, 114 E. Gorham 
St., Madison, Wis. 
Illinois Schools may use, without expense, a library 
or a lecture with lantern slides, by applying to Mrs. 
Ruthven Deane, 504 N. State St., Chicago. 
The Phoebe. 
Upper parts, grayish brown; under parts, 
white, washed with yellowish; length, about 
seven inches. 
The Phoebe, like the Robin, is one of the 
homely, confiding birds for whom we have a 
peculiar affection. Like the Robin, she often 
comes about our houses and builds her nest 
in a crotch of the piazza, as if putting her 
brood under our protection. Though she may 
not be as neat a housekeeper as some, her 
presence is such a valuable nature lesson for 
our children that she should be eagerly wel- 
corned for that reason alone. * * * 
When the Phoebe does not seek the shelter¬ 
ing roof of a house, it often builds on a rafter 
of an old shed or barn, where it may be seen 
perching on the ridge pole with crest raised 
and wings and tail hanging. It may also be 
found nesting under bridge* and on rocks or 
cliffs. When seen, now and then it cries out 
hip, hip, or with a jerk of the tail calls 
pliocbe, phoebe. It sits turning its head and 
looking over its shoulder this way and that, 
till spying an insect, it suddenly darts into 
the air, snaps its bill conclusively, and then 
settles back on a perch, for it is a Flycatcher 
and makes its living from our insect pests. 
Not only does it help to clear the air of the 
flies and wasps that annoy cattle, but it eats 
Mav beetles and click beetles, both of which 
injure the crops; and also helps free the trees 
of elm leaf beetles, and the vegetable gardens 
of squash beetles, bugs, caterpillars, grass¬ 
hoppers, and the bean and pea weevils. When 
it is seen perched on mullein stalks after its 
arrival in the spring, it is lying in wait for 
the moth of the cutworm. In fact, as Pro¬ 
fessor Beal says, “It is evident that a pair of 
Phoebes must materially reduce the number of 
insects near a garden or field, as the birds often 
if not always, raise two broods a vear. and each 
brood numbers from four to six young.” He 
concludes: “There is hardly a more useful 
species about the farm and it should receive 
every encouragement and be protected from 
cats and other marauders, for it will repay 
such care a hundred fold.” 
From Florence M. Bailey’s “Birds of Vil¬ 
lage and Field.” 
Letters about the Phoebe should be mailed 
by July 1st. 
Prizes and Badges. 
The honor badges go this month to Willie 
Cooper and Mildred Dixon. Letters have been 
received from Andrew Thronson, May Smith, 
Ida Schlick, Neal Daubner, Alvena Sazama, 
Norma Weiss, Ernestine Seeman, Iva McCul¬ 
lough, Blanche Taylor and Ruthie Gardner, in 
Wisconsin, and from Fred Mans, Edgar Leigh- 
tv and Eva Carr in Illinois. An interesting 
letter from Jacob Kiser is given below. 
Do not neglect to send, at the end of May, 
your bird notes, in competition for the June 
prizes of three books, to be given to Wisconsin 
children for personal observations through 
March, April and May. 
Letters about the Mourning Dove will be no¬ 
ticed next month. 
Good copies in color of pictures of the blue 
bird, the hooded warbler and the red-headed 
woodpecker have been received from Iva Mc¬ 
Cullough and Blanche Taylor. This is an 
excellent way to impress the markings of birds 
