BY THE WAYSIDE. 
89 
SCHOOL BRANCH DEPARTMENT, 
Every Wisconsin School Branch is required to subscribe for at least one copy of BY THE WAYSIDE 
Letters for th : s department should be written on only 
me side of the page, should give the name, age and ad- 
Iress of the writer, and should be mailed by the first of 
ihe month, Illinois Children sending to Mrs. Win. M. 
scudder, 165 Buena Ave., Chicago, 111., and Wisconsin 
‘hildren to Mrs. Peckliam, 646 Marshall St., Milwaukee, 
Win. An honor badge will be awarded for each state 
;very month, preference being given to letters about, the 
jird for the month (which is always on this page), and 
;o original observations. Any child who wins the honor 
mdge 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, 
save the use of the Merrill Library of bird books, by 
applying to Miss Bossert, Librarian, 719 Franklin 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 
nr a lecture with lantern slides, by applying to Mrs. 
Ruthven Deane, 504 N. State St., Chicago. 
Song Sparrow. 
,j Description.—Upper parts brown, streaked 
with black; under parts white, streaked with 
black, and with a dark central blotch on 
breast. Length, about 614 inches. 
Like the Chippy and other philosophers, the 
Song Sparrow makes the most of the table that 
I is spread for it, changing with good grace from 
the seeds that winter offers to the insects that 
summer brings. Mr. Nehrling considers it one 
of our most useful birds from the eagerness 
with which it sets upon injurious caterpillars, 
grasshoppers, and leaf-eating beetles, to say 
• nothing about cabbage worms and moths; 
[while the persistency of its search for rose 
bugs, cutworms, and all kinds of beetles rivals 
that of the most ardent entomologist. While 
we have need of every pair of these useful 
birds, Mr. Nehrling believps- that many of 
their garden nests are destroyed by strolling 
cats, and many of the birds, both young and 
old, killed by the prowlers. “Cats should never 
be tolerated in garden or field,” he exclaims 
emphatically. “They do more harm to our fa¬ 
miliar garden birds than all other enemies 
combined.” This testimony is borne out by Mr. 
Brewster, who says that stray grimalkins have 
even penetrated the forests of Maine, their 
tracks actually being commoner there than 
those of any wild animal. As a matter of 
humanity to the cats as well as to the birds, 
Mr. Brewster urges that all city and village 
cats should be licensed just as much as the 
dogs, and no unfed vagrants allowed at large, 
where to keep from starving they will prey 
upon our song birds. 
When not prematurely killed by feline ma¬ 
rauders, in some localities the Song Sparrow 
is said to rear three broods in a season. It 
builds on or near the ground, and its eggs are 
bluish white heavily marked with brown. 
The Song Sparrows are among the gentlest 
and most winning birds we are blessed with, 
and when they nest near the house may easily 
be induced to come to the doorstep for crumbs. 
Their song bears the test of every day, for 
while it is not brilliant, it has all the sweet¬ 
ness of the gentle bird’s own simple nature, 
and heard far from home stirs chords that the 
most brilliant strangers do not touch. Even 
its chirp has a contented quality that it does 
one good to hear. Furthermore, the student 
who is interested in noting bird songs will find 
the song sparrow well worth study, for it 
varies remarkably. Fifteen varieties of its 
song: have been listed in one week, and the same 
individual often has a number of tunes in his 
repertoire .—From Mrs. Bailey’s Birds of Vil¬ 
lage and Field. 
Letters about the song sparrow should be 
mailed to Miss Ruth Marshall, Appleton, Wis., 
by May first. 
Prizes and Badges. 
The Wisconsin honor badge is given to Will¬ 
iam Schneider of La Crosse, and the Illinois, to 
Stella Reihl of Alton. 
A subscription to Bird Lore is offered with 
every number of the Wayside for the best paper 
