40 
BY THE WAYSIDE 
out of it all the: long July day, some¬ 
times picking up a stray morsel to eat, 
and sometimes trying their husky, 
young voices a little. 
Some of the members of the bird de¬ 
partment of the Feld Museum, it seems, 
had for some time held the opinion that, 
taking a strip of country running north 
and south from Wisconsin into Illinois, 
through our region here in Ogle county, 
the birds were a little different in size 
and coloring from those in the contig¬ 
uous territory. So a bright, earnest 
young man, connected with the depart¬ 
ment, was sent out to investigate. .This 
enthusiastic young naturalist,, having 
relatives in our region, combined the 
work with a summer outing. With Ins 
friends he made us a visit, and, with 
much delight I showed him the nest of 
our orioles, as well as the nests of seven 
other birds,—the rose-breasted gros¬ 
beak, robin, catbird, orchard oriole, blue- 
jay, brown thrush, and a song sparrow 
still on her nest among a bower of vines 
by an old stump. . After ten days of 
thorough examination of the strip of 
country, the young examiner decided 
there was no difference. This was three 
summers ago. Last winter this capable 
young naturalist, in his brave, fine man¬ 
hood, went prematurely into the Great 
Beyond. It was Mr. John Farwell 
Ferry! 
Rebecca H. Kauffman, 
Oregon, Illinois. 
September 26, 1910. 
Wisconsin Prize Letter 
Mauston, Wis., 
Oct. 1, 1910. 
Dear Wayside:— 
Last Tune while some men were burn¬ 
ing brush in a clearing near Browns 
Valley, Minnesota, they came across a 
wild duck's nest and eggs, the nest was 
in their way and to save the eggs, they , 
took them home and put them under a 
setting hen. After the eggs hatched 
several of the ducks disappear ed and, 
in order to save the two that remained, 
they gave them to my cousin to take to 
her nieces, who lived on a farm near 
Mauston, Wisconsin. It was a very hot 
day when they started for Wisconsin, 
so my cousin wrapped up a piece of ice 
in a cloth and put it in their traveling- 
box. When she got to Minneapolis the 
ducks seemed to be chilled so she and a 
friend that was with her each took a 
duck and held and coddled them until 
they were warm enough to put back in 
the box. The little travelers interested 
the passengers in their car; and many 
asked their history. They were finally 
landed on tne farm where their new I 
owners took possession of them. 
When the children thought the ducks j 
were tired of being shut up they let them ; 
out and on hot days they put them in 
the large windmill tank where the stock j 
drink. It was amusing to see the ducks 
dive and paddle about. They were 
fond of angle worms and, when the 
children fed them, they would stretch 
out their necks and reach for the worm, 
or, if it was dropped in the water, they 
would dive after it. The ducks were 
brown and tan in color and, while small, 
were very soft and fuzzy. They had 
long black bills and little black legs. 
Their feet were webbed. The sma lestj 
duck finally died or was killed by the 
cat or dog and only one is left. 
Yours very truly, 
Gertrude McNown, 
Mauston. Wis. 
Age 12 years. 
