BY THE WAYSIDE 
87 
NOTICE 
Letters and articles for By the 
Wayside must be at the secretary’s 
I office before the first of the month. 
Hereafter no letters arriving after 
said date will be printed no matter 
how good their contents miay be. 
Continued from Page 83. 
charm.ng zest to life. The whole field 
I of bird-lore is fascinating and well 
worth while looking into and a large 
I acquaintance with it will only deepen 
] our appreciation for nature. Let us, 
then, in this glad spring-time renew 
our own acquaintance with the birds 
h and help others to do likewise; so 
that when we have become better 
acquainted with them, someone can 
say to us: 
“But above all, I have been gratified 
to note that the study of these lowly 
creatures has made you better and 
broader men. You have not only 
grown more observing, but have cul¬ 
tivated a willingness to receive the 
ideas and thoughts which the contem¬ 
plation of these wonderful bits of cre¬ 
ation has suggested to your minds. 
“In a new sense, has the great 
wrld become to you a storehouse ot 
animate forms. Very many species of 
life have been revealed to you, with 
all their complex being, their wonder¬ 
ful adaptation to their environment:, 
their endless and astonishing variety, 
and the marvelous stories of their 
life histories. 
“You seem almost to have visited 
the 'secret places of the Most High, 
and to have wrested the hidden things 
from their hiding places. Never again 
can the earth appear to you common¬ 
place and unattractive. Rather will 
you long for ages to penetrate farther 
into the mysteries of created things, ot 
which as yet you seem only to have 
looked through an open door to the 
weadh of knowledge beyond.’' 
“Allow me, as my parting word, to 
recall to your mind the guiding senti¬ 
ment, so wisely chosen: 
“ ‘The more things thou 1 earnest to 
know and to enjoy the more complete 
and full will be for thee the delight of 
1 • > 
living. 
Manitowoc, Wis., R. F. D. No. 7, 
March 2/, 1911. 
Dear Wayside :—- 
1 have been studying about the Rue 
jay. The blue jay is about seven 
inches long. It is purplish blue above 
and whitish below, with lighter blue 
wings and tail marked with black 
bands, and in some places tipped with 
white. On its head is a beautiful blue 
crest. 
The jay is noisy, mischievous and 
quarrelsome. It is only found in 
America. It sometimes stays here all 
the year round, but I did not see any 
this winter. The jay robs and eats 
the bird's eggs and their young. Its 
note is a harsh scream. It likes to 
frighten birds by screaming like a 
hawk or like a bird in pain. 
The jay feeds on green peas, young 
birds, seeds, berries, corn, chestnuts, 
and acorns. The jays sometimes 
gather more food than they can eat, 
so they bury it. The jay’s nest is a 
clumsy affair built in the tops of the 
trees, but sometimes they move into a 
crow’s nest. The jay lays from three 
to four eggs. 
Yours truly, 
Edward Jachimstat,. 
Age 13. 
