68 
BY THE WAYSIDE 
BY THEYVAYSIDE 
Published on the tenth of each month except July 
and Aiigust. . . , 
The official organ of the Wisconsin and Illinois 
Audubon Societies. __ 
Twenty-five cents per year. Single Copie s 3 cts. 
All communications should be sent to Miss Ruth 
Marshall, Appleton, Wis. 
NATURE STUDY IN SCHOOL. 
IX. The Toad. 
The common toad is one of the best sub¬ 
jects for nature study lessons. There are sev¬ 
eral reasons for this. First of all, it lias great 
economic value, more than is commonlj 
known. Toads destroy an enormous number 
of insects and slugs which injure the gar¬ 
den. Their capacity for this service seems 
unlimited. While they are of such value to 
man, little is done to check their destruction, 
so often thoughtless or wanton. Let the chil¬ 
dren be taught these lessons. 
Toads can easily be collected and kept the 
year around. The children will bring them 
if they are asked to. No one need feai to 
touch them; children have no repugnance for 
them until they learn it from tlieii elders. 
There should be several toads kept so that the 
children may have an opportunity to know 
them well. Fit up some kind of a house for 
them—on acquarium, or a wooden box will 
do. Have in the bottom a few inches of 
moist earth in which is sunk a dish of water. 
Keep them in a cool shady place. 
I>e sure that the lessons on the toad are 
the right kind. Do not spend valuable time 
in asking such foolish questions as “How 
many legs has your specimen.” or “Where are 
their eyes?” Let the children see how it 
makes itself at home in its new quarters; 
how its dull color and warty surface fit it 
into its surroundings. Then there are feeding- 
experiments; perhaps these can best be car¬ 
ried on outside the school hours. What will 
toads eat? Is any one quick enough to see 
it catch its food? Then the pupils will notice 
how it breathes. And some day some one 
will see the shedding of the skin .and what the 
toad does with it. There is no end to the 
interesting things to be found out. 
p o 
DOWNY WOODPECKER. 
The downy woodpecker is a very sociable 
little bird, more so than any of the other 
woodpeckers. Almost any day in the winter 
or summer he can be seen about oui homes- 
busily boring holes into our trees, after the 
insects beneath the bark. Apple tiees being 
his favorites. He himself is from six to se\en 
inches long with black and white bais on 
wings and tail, and a narrow red head bar on 
the male and a white one on the female. He 
has no song only a harsh call note. His nest 
is built in holes in old trees and contains 
five small, white eggs. 
Leters about the above bird should be sent to 
the secretaries by April first. 
THE SONG SPARROW. 
One morning I saw a song sparrow. I said, 
“Come little sparrow and I’ll give you some¬ 
thing to eat.” Then I hung a piece of suet 
on a tree and went to school. At noon when I 
came home it was eating the suet. I thiew 
out some string for it to use to build a nest. 
In the evening I threw out some bread crumbs 
and after it had eaten some, it seemed to 
say, “Thank you.” 
The bird is about six inches long. The 
eo'o’s are of blue or whitish color. The song 
is like a whistle of a boy. 
The next morning when I was playing with 
my little brother, I saw it again and it seem¬ 
ed to say, “Where’s my breakfast?” Then 
I went into the house to get some bread 
crumbs, and it sang a song. The song spar¬ 
row has a beautiful song and I love it dear¬ 
ly inda Ross, 
Aged 11. Appleton, Wis. 
Chicago, February 15, 1904. 
Dear Wayside: 
I have only a little bit to wreite. But I will 
do the best I can. Last year a little sparrow 
brought some hair and feathers and some 
dry grass also and built a cute little nest 
in a popular tree near our house. It laid 
very cute little eggs. It hatched some lit¬ 
tle ones. Then it went away and I never saw 
it any more. After about a month a robin 
red breast came peering around the nest. 
It sat in the same nest that the sparow had 
left. Then after the robin had laid some 
eggs and little ones hatched out. But I am 
going to tell vou a very funny thing that 
after all (fuss) bad weather the little nest 
is there yet. 
Yours trul v r . 
Aged 9. Majorie Iluszagh. 
