March 29, 1924 
r 
556 
The RURAL. NEW 
Boys and Girls 
By Edward M. Tuttle 
Our Page is like the 
and happiness to boys 
sun; it sends its light 
and girls everywhere 
YORKER 
inspecting 
each cranny and 
You’re busy 
hole 
In the ragged bark of yon hickory bole: 
You intent on your task, and I on the 
law 
Of your wonderful head and gymnastic 
claw ! 
“The woodpecker well may despair of this 
feat— 
Only the fly with you can compete! 
So much is clear; bin I fain would know 
Ilow you can so reckless and fearless go, 
Head upward, head downward, all one to 
you, 
Zenith and nadir the same in your view? 
ooiumiY parkiiurst (12 years). 
New York. 
Memory Verse 
MARCH 
The stormy March is come at last, 
With wind, and cloud, and changing 
skies; 
I hear the rushing of the blast. 
That through the snowy valley flies. 
Ah. passing few are they who speak. 
Wild, stormy month! in praise of tliee; 
Yet. though thy winds are loud and bleak, 
Thou art a welcome month to me. 
For thou, to northern lands, again 
The glad and glorious sun dost bring, 
And thou has joined the gentle train. 
And wear’st the gentle name of Spring. 
And. in thy region of blast and storm, 
Smiles many a long, bright, sunny day. 
When the changed winds are soft and 
warm, 
And heaven puts on the blue of May. 
Then sing aloud the gushing rills, 
And the full springs, from frost set free, 
That, brightly leaping down the lulls, 
Are just set out to meet the sea. 
The year’s departing beauty hides 
of wintry storms the sullen threat; 
But in thy sternest frown abides 
A look of kindly promise yet. 
Thou bring’st the hope of those calm 
skies, , 
And that .soft time of sunny showers, 
When the wide bloom, on earth that lies, 
Seems of a brighter world than ours. 
—William Cullen Bryant. 
No less than a dozen readers sent in 
this poem of Bryant's for use as a mem¬ 
ory verse, showing it to be a general fa¬ 
vorite. And. indeed, it is one of the love¬ 
liest poems of the month of March one 
that all of you should copy in your note¬ 
books and commit to memory. Each verse 
has in it a thought or picture that you 
will find true as you say it over 
living these March days. There 
shorter version of this poem, often 
readers and collections, which 
years), Illinois 
it has some woodpecker-like habits. There 
were also several drawings sent in. all ol 
them usable. I selected the one by Fran¬ 
ces Sanford to print as perhaps the best 
of the lot. but wish to give credit also to 
Katherine Eckert (14) of New Jersey, 
Maurice Sckock (It!) of Pennsylvania, 
and Bertriee Angell (13), 
(16), and Henry Kienle 
York, for their good work, 
a number of interesting letters 
We have read the puzzle 
in 
while 
is a 
used 
omits 
the fourth and sixth verses and changes 
the fifth one somewhat, but it always 
seems to me better to know a poem by as 
great a poet as William Cullen Bryant 
just as the author wrote it. 
One morning I went out to the barn 
where I had some suet and I saw a red- 
breasted nuthatch, the first I ever saw. 
He was about 4)4 inches long. He was 
reddish on the breast. He was blue and 
white on the back. He has a larger 
cousin, the white-breasted nuthatch. He 
has a cousin in the Gulf States, the 
brown-headed nuthatch. All the nut¬ 
hatches build their nests in holes in 
stumps and trees. There are some other 
cousins west of the Rockies. 
New York. mariox goldberg 
(9 years). 
Marion had an interesting experience to 
report to us. The red-breasted nutharch 
is not nearly so common as the white- 
breasted. Your editor has never seen one, 
though I am always hoping I may. 
Treasure Island 
BY ROBERT LOEIS STEVENSON 
As was to be expected, there was a fine 
response to this Book Puzzle, and many 
lettersi telling more of the story and de¬ 
scribing Stevenson’s life. There were 
also three drawings, two of which are 
published, the third being from Earl Red¬ 
mond of New York, who drew a picture 
of Long John Silver. Without saying 
anything more, here are several of the 
best letters: ‘ 
“Treasure Island” is the name of the 
Book Puzzle on Our Page for February. 
I certainly can tell when I see that story 
described, because I’ve studied it. Last 
semester in English class we studied 
"Treasure Island,” by Robert Louis Ste¬ 
venson. For one assignment several peo¬ 
ple dramatized scenes from the story. 
These everyone enjoyed immensely. 
Robert Louis Stevenson, the author, 
wrote many boys’ books. All are enjoy¬ 
able, but “Treasure Island” surpasses 
them all. Stevenson wrote the book upon 
the request of his step-son for a boy’s 
Ellen Rickard 
(17) of New 
You will find 
below: 
“What Is 
It?” in The R. N.-Y. of Feb. 23. We 
have decided that it is a nuthatch. A\ e 
think so because the call of the nuthatch 
is “Yank, Yank.” The nuthatch is bluish 
gray on the back. Its position on a tree is 
often downward. It is often around 
houses and orchards. It eats worms and 
insect eggs. Your friends. 
the FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADES OF SCHF.N- 
Kvrs HIGH SCHOOL. 
New York. 
This letter is interesting because it rep¬ 
resents a whole school classroom. AA e 
like to think that Our Page can be help¬ 
ful to boys and girls in their school life 
as well as in their home life. 
I think Dorothy Gardner's bird is a 
white-breasted nuthatch. A pair live in 
a hole in an apple tree in our yard. We 
The White-breasted Xnthalcli—Drawn by 
Frances Sanford (13 years) A ew York 
have a feeding station. We give them 
nuts, crumbs and suet. I stood by a tree 
and held a piece of suet in my hand. A 
nuthatch came very near, but whs too shy 
to eat. But the chickadees eat out of my 
hand. gertrudf. town send 
New York. (8 years). 
•The Glorious Sun 
Above, in box and heading and mem¬ 
ory verse, the sun is mentioned as the 
symbol of Springtime growth and hap¬ 
piness. Day by day now it is climbing 
higher and higher in the heavens, bring¬ 
ing longer days and warmer days with 
each passing week. In very truth we 
owe our life and all the life on this earth 
to the heat and light of the sun’s rays. 
Perhaps I have told you before of the 
naturalist who once said that if he could 
only teach boys and girls one fact about 
nature it would be the way in which 
‘every living thing responds to sunlight. 
If vou can get hold of a copy 
The 
known 
is 
of Robert 
Louis Stevenson’s “Child’s Garden of 
Verses,” read his poem on “The Summer 
>Sun.” in which the sun is called 
gardener of the world.” 
1 am 
instead 
insects. 
A New Nature Puzzle 
an animal, yet I fly. I wear fur 
of feathers. I am very fond of 
which I catch while flying around 
in the dark. You all know me well, for I 
flit about with the hobgoblins and witches 
on a certain night in October. Some peo¬ 
ple are afraid of me, for they claim that I 
get into their hair and tangle it all up. 
and perhaps bite them. But this, of 
course, is all false. I am a peaceful little 
animal and wish only to be let alone. 
Some of my larger brothers migrate south 
for the Winter, but I do not. If you 
search every dark crevice in the barn or 
in the attic you may find me hanging 
head down from two claws on my wings. 
I am sleeping my long Winter sleep. But 
in the Spring you will again see me flit¬ 
ting about in the moonlight. What am 1? 
henry kiemle (17 years). New York. 
Oh March that blusters and March that 
blows, 
Beauty you summon from Winter’s snows, 
You are the pathway that leads to the 
rose. —'Celia Thaxter. 
New York. Sent by ivatt miller. 
white-breasted nuthatch, generally 
in this locality as a “sapsucker.” 
a common resident throughout the 
State of Pennsylvania. During Summer 
in inhabits trees in groves and forests, 
but in Winter it visits trees of orchards, 
yards and gardens in quest of food. Nut¬ 
hatches, like woodpeckers, creep about 
the trunks and limbs of trees, searching 
for insects or their eggs, and various 
worms. A nuthatch will descend the ver¬ 
tical trunks and limbs of trees head 
downward ; it woodpecker cannot do this. 
The nuthatch lays five or six eggs in a 
warm bed of feathers, hair and leaves, 
placed in a hole in it tree. These birds 
also eat nuts, acorns. Indian corn and 
various seeds which they stick into the 
crevices of bark or in cracks of fence 
rails, and hammer away with their bills 
until the food stuff is broken that it 
may be swallowed. Joseph enick 
Pennsylvania. (13 years). 
Collifis 
New 
Johnson 
Jersey 
years) 
story of adventure. The rough-looking 
man was Captain Billy Bones; the doc¬ 
tor. Doctor Livesey; the son of the owner 
of the inn, Jim Hawkins; the squire, 
Squire Trelawney; the man Jim found 
on the island. Ben Gunn ; and the leader 
of the pirates. Captain Long John Silver! 
bertha krisst (13 years). 
New York 
A Game to Play 
Below is another game that you can 
play whenever a group gets together. 
Quite a number of new games have been 
sent in since last month, and they are 
very much better described than formerly, 
following the suggestions I made to you. 
As long as we have a good supply I think 
it would be an interesting plan to print 
one game each month, don’t you? Then, 
why not get a little -notebook and copy 
each game in it? After a while you will 
have quite a collection to consult when 
you want something to play. 
CLOTHESPIN RELAY 
To play this game captains are selected, 
who each choose sides. The sides form in 
lines and kneel on the right knee. The 
captain, who is at the head of the line, 
also kneeling, has five clothespins placed 
in front of him on the floor. When the 
signal to start is given he picks up one 
The answer to last month’s Book Puz¬ 
zle is “Treasure Island.” It was written 
by Robert Louis Stevenson. The book is 
divided into six parts, each extremely in¬ 
teresting. into which the author puts some 
wonderful descriptions of the settings of 
the story. He describes the situations so 
vividly that one may see them before his 
own eyes. 
It is said that when Stevenson was 
young he always carried a pad and pencil. 
While walking along he would suddenly 
stop, look around, sit down and begin to 
write. Ilis companions, if he had any, 
would wonder what he could see to write 
about : but when he had finished he would 
have written a description so wonderful 
and .so vivid as to turn what had seemed 
as nothing to his companions into magic. 
Thus Stevenson transforms things, which 
are merely common and ordinary, into 
what seems magic when read by his liter¬ 
ature loving readers. 
mildred voski'RGH (14 years). 
Connecticut. 
Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of 
“Treasure Island,” was born in Edin¬ 
burgh on Nov. 13. 1850. His health was 
poor, so instead of being able to do great 
deeds, he had to dream his deeds and 
write them down for the delight of man¬ 
kind. 
Stevenson married an American lady. 
Airs. Fanny Osbourne. She was a per¬ 
fect companion for him and a devoted 
nurse. Her .-on and daughter were equal¬ 
ly devoted to their step-father, and if is 
to young Lloyd Osbourne that “Treasure 
Island” is due. for Stevenson wrote the 
story for him. 
Stevenson died on Dec. 3. 1894. The 
books that are said to have influenced 
Stevenson in writing “Treasure Island” 
are Defoe’s "Robinson Cruso.” Irving’s 
"Tales of a Traveler.” Johnson’s “Lives 
of Pirates and Highwaymen,” Kingsley’s 
“At Last.” Alarryat’s “Masterman 
Ready.” and Poe’s “The Gold Bug.” 
Among Stevenson’s other books are 
“Across the Plains.” “Essays.” “Letters,” 
"An Inland Voyage.” and "Travels with 
a Donkey.” mary rissmiller 
Pennsylvania. (16 years). 
The 
The Nuthatch 
This is evidently a familiar bird to our 
readers, for there were many replies to 
last month’s Nature Tuzzle. A consider¬ 
able number called the bird a woodpecker, 
which, of course, is not correct, although 
The answer to Dorothy Gardner's Na¬ 
ture Puzzle is the white-breasted nut¬ 
hatch. As I was looking through my bird 
book I happened to see the picture of this 
bird and the description, with the follow¬ 
ing poem by Edith M. Thomas: 
TO A NUTHATCH 
“Shrewd little haunter of woods all gray. 
Whom I meet on my walk of a Winter 
day— 
The Hispaniola Landiny on Treason' 
Island—Drawn by Charlotte Booth 
(15 years), New York 
clothespin and starts passing it back 
down the line. The clothespin must be 
passed with the right hand. When the 
clothespin reaches the end of the line the 
last person says “Down.” and the cap¬ 
tain starts the next pin. This i- contin¬ 
ued until the fifth clothespin lias reached 
the person on the end of the line. When 
he calls “All down,” the line then stands 
up. The line standing up first wins. 
EDNA HURD 
<16 Years). Massachusetts 
Robert Louis Stevenson was of direct 
Scotch descent. His father and grand¬ 
father were engineers and were connected 
with the lighthouse service of Scotland. 
These men won wide fame in Scotland for 
their work, which carried them into the 
wildest parts, which may have inspired 
Robert to write many of his adventure 
stories. Ilis mother was Margaret Isa¬ 
bella Balfour, daughter of a Scotch Pres¬ 
byterian clergyman of Coliuton. Robert 
was the only child and was born on the 
13th of November. 1850. in Edinburgh, 
Scotland. He spent much of his life at 
C'olinton. He had poor health and there- 
