BY THE WAYSIDE. 
Dear Wayside. —I have seen quite a num- 
>er of bluejays, most of them in the summer, 
>ut I have seen two or three this winter. They 
lave a black collar and they are crested. The 
vings and tail are deep blue. They are white- 
ipped and black-barred. It is very bold. It has 
j i harsh noisy call note. They are a very pretty 
>ird; they like to come around the corn cribs 
md eat corn, and I like to see them around. 
5ome people think they do more harm than 
; *ood, but I do not think so. I think they are 
lere for a good purpose, and I would like to 
iee more of them in Wisconsin. 
Milton, Wis. Leslie Krippner, age 10. 
Milwaukee, Wis. 
Dear Mrs. Peckham. —One morning when I 
vas going to school I saw a snow-bird lying on 
:he snow. I picked it up and brought it in the 
muse, wrapped it in some cloth and put it 
iear the stove. It would not move until I took 
t. I put it in a cage, and now it is well again. 
; 3ne time I put some crumbs on the sidewalk 
‘or the birds. Then I went in, looked out of the 
larlor window and saw three little birds quar- 
•eling about the crumbs. I went out and put 
ome more there, and then there were about 
ive of them. 
I hope that everybody will be good to the 
i >irds, because I take much interest in them. 
Gertrude Biersacii, age 10 years. 
1011 Second St. 
[ft 
_ 
Dear Wayside. —Last year some robins built 
i nest in a box-elder tree, in our back yar'd. 
j N T ot long after four light blue eggs were in it. 
| 3ne day four little baby robins were hatched, 
j [t kept the father and mother birds busy to 
supply food for their hungry babies. 
One morning I went out doors, and there lay 
i he father bird on the ground. A large ugly 
•at had nearly killed it, and was about to run 
iway with-it., when I made it drop the bird. 
i 
[ bro’t it in the house, and tried to help the 
)ird to live, but it was too weak, it soon died. 
The mother bird worked very hard but she 
wouldn’t do all the work. The next day we 
loticed a new bird helping the mother bird. 
One day I watched the two elder birds teach 
hem to fly. Not very long after the tree was 
?mpty, the birds had flown away. 
Hammond, Wis. Lucille Deane, age 13. 
75 
La Crosse, Wis., 233 N. 7th St. 
Dear Madam: —One morning after a rain, 
while I was standing at the window, I saw a 
robin fly down to a pool of water which was 
near the house. He would dip his head into 
the water and then shake himself. He seemed 
to enjoy his cool bath very much. After a 
while he flew away, but soon returned with an¬ 
other robin. The newcomer then took a bath 
while the other bird watched him. In a few 
moments they flew away to a neighboring tree, 
where I soon heard them singing. 
Mayme Garrity. 
Cedarburg, Wis. 
Dear Mrs. Peckham. —One day as I was 
going back in our yard an English ©parrow ate 
corn with our chickens. Sparrows generally 
build their nests in the topmost branches of 
some tall trees, also under the eaves of houses, 
and in ©trawstacks. They are short and 
plump in form. Their legs are very short. 
The color of the plumage is dull, plain and 
modest. The English sparrows chirp contin¬ 
uously, but their chirp is very short, yet not very 
unmusical. The flight, as I have observed it, is 
undulating and fluttering. They eat seeds, 
berries, grains, worms, especially the little in¬ 
sects which infest the willows and very often 
destroy them. The English sparrows eat more 
noxious insects than a person anticipates. 1 
delight in watching them but would not like 
to count the number of insects they get away 
with in one day. The English sparrow hops 
and is rather a noisy little creature. This bird 
is tolerably common around here, staying with 
us summer and winter. 
Some people think the English sparrows are 
a nuisance; but I do not think so. We would 
not see very much of bird life during the long, 
cold winter if it were not for these friendly 
little creatures. They cheer us by their lively 
little chirps and make the winter less dreary. 
I would not hurt an English sparrow and 
won’t allow the boys to shoot them around our 
house. 
Melvin Raeder. age 10 years. 
Dear Wayside: — I saw a scarlet tanager 
bird. It was red and black. I saw a robin sit¬ 
ting on the ground. I saw a flock of geese 
flying. Roscoe Van Meter, 
Necedah. 
