% Zhc Mavetfce 
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE WISCONSIN AND ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETIES 
One Year 25 Cent s 
WISCONSIN NUMBER 
Single Copy 3 Cents 
Published by the Wisconsin Audubon Society, at Appleton, Wisconsin. 
Entered as second class matter May 16, 1904 at Appleton, Wis., under the act of congress of Mar. 3, ’79 
VOL. VII 
APRIL, 1905 
No. 10 
Matilda Ann. 
Alive W . Robbins, in the Independent, New 
York. 
I knew a charming little girl, 
Who’d say, “Oh, see that flower!” 
Whenever in the garden 
Or woods she spent an horn'. 
And sometimes she would listen, 
And say, “Oh, hear that, bird!” 
Whenever in the forest 
Its clear, sweet note she heard. 
But then I knew another— 
Much wiser, don’t you think?— 
Who never called a bird a ‘“bird”; 
But said, “the bobolink,” 
Or “oriole,” or robin,” 
Or “wren,” as it might be; 
She called them all by their first names. 
So intimate was she. 
And in the woods or garden, 
She never picked a “flower”; 
But “anemones,” “h'epaticas,” 
Or “crocus,” by the hours. 
Both little girls loved birds and flowers, 
But one love was the best; 
I need not point the moral; 
I’m sure you see the rest. 
I’or would it not be very queer, 
If when perhaps you came, 
^ our parents had not thought worth while 
To give you any name? 
I think you would be quite upset, 
And feel your brain a-wh'irl, 
If you were not “Matilda Ann,” 
But just “a little girl.” 
A Bird Observatory. 
All bird students will be interested in the 
new observatory which has just been establish- 
life. A wealthy gentleman, C. C. Worthing¬ 
ton, has endowed th'e institution and given 
the use of ten acres of his estate on the Del¬ 
aware river. The place is in charge of Prof. 
X. C. D. Scott, of Princeton University, one of 
the foremost ornithologists in the country. 
His book, “The Story of a Bird Lover” is fa¬ 
miliar to many of the readers of By the 
Wayside. Hundreds of birds will be kept here 
and studied, and it is hoped that many of 
the unsolved problems of bird life will be 
worked out. 
At present the birds are kept in temporary 
quarters awaiting the construction of new 
buildings especially for their use. Birds from 
all over the world are here confined in roomy 
quarters under conditions as nearly normal as 
possible. There are huge flying cages, minia¬ 
ture forests and pools of fresh water piped 
from the mountains. The collection is one of 
the largest in the world, and the conditions 
particularly favorable for observing habits 
and life histories. 
Prof. Scott has succeeded in maintaining 
very friendly relations with 1 his charges. At 
his call hundreds of birds will come and clus¬ 
ter about him. He has trained the voices of 
some of them to a remarkable degree in im¬ 
itating popular songs. 
The opportunities affored at Shawnee are 
probably more favorable than in any other 
place in the country for studying certain 
problems which have long attracted the at¬ 
tention of scientists Most bird students 
have had to content themselves with simply 
identifying and classifying birds. Of late 
3 ’ears there has been a. growing interest in 
th'e habits and life problems of birds, but op¬ 
portunities for observations have been mea¬ 
ger. Now that the economic value of birds 
is receiving recognition, there is a practical as 
well as scientific demand for more information 
about the loving bird. Some of this informa- 
