Tht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1241 
Feeding the Calf for Grandpa—Picture sent hg Russell Brown, New Jersey. 
The Ovenbird 
This is the answer to last month’s 
Nature Puzzle. A number of readers 
told more about this bird in their letters, 
adding to Meribeth’s description such 
facts as that the ovenbird really belongs 
to the warbler family; that it is some¬ 
times called golden-crowned thrush be¬ 
cause of its bright crown-patch and sweet 
song, which is heard far less often than 
its “teacher, teacher” call; that its nest 
on the ground is dome-shaped, with the 
entrance on one side like a tiny Dutch 
oven, hence the name of the bird. Three 
readers sent drawings of the ovenbird. 
One you will find printed; the others 
were from Gertrude Cogswell (13) and 
Miriam Kachel, both of Pennsylvania. 
The most complete answer was in the 
following little letter from an eleven- 
year-old New York reader: 
Have been reading the boys’ and girls’ 
page in The It. N.-Y. for some time and 
enjoy it. 1 am interested in the August 
Nature Puzzle. The answer is the oven- 
bird. often called the golden-crowned 
thrush. It is really a warbler. The 
ovenbird feeds on the ground, bobbing 
its head at each step. Its song resembles 
the words “teacher, teacher, teacher,” as 
Meribeth Sleight says. The bird is 
called ovenbird because its nest resembles 
the old-fashioned Dutch oven in shape. 
New York. Patricia Baer 
(11 years). 
A New Nature Puzzle 
I am sending you a Nature Puzzle 
about a plant for the Boys’ and Girls’ 
page in The R. N.-Y. If it is correct 
and good enough to be published 1 shall 
be glad. I will send a drawing of the 
plant later. 
The plant which I am describing is a 
A Hail mobile That Two Boys Made—Picture sent by Miss Cora Sheppard 
A New York State teacher. 
My Brother and His Pets—Picture sent 
by Hannah Thompson (12 years) 
Pennsylvania 
I just finished reading the boys’ and 
girls’ page and found it very interesting. 
The book described in the Book Puzzle is 
“Little Lord Fauntleroy” written by 
Frances Hodgson Burnett. She was born 
in Manchester, England, November 24, 
1849. Her parents moved to Tennessee, 
where she began writing stories for the 
magazines in 1867. She was married to 
Dr. S. M. Burnett in 1873. Then she 
and Dr. Burnett moved to Washington 
in 1875. She obtained a divorce in 1898. 
In I960 she was married for the second 
time, to Dr. Stephen Townsend, an Eng¬ 
lish surgeon. She wrote many books, 
among them “Little Lord Fauntleroy,” 
which my mother read to my sisters and 
brothers and me before I could read. I 
read it for myself this last school year 
and found it a very good book. I also 
read “Editha’s Burglar.” This is also a 
good book but a bit more exciting. 
Ivah Miller 
New York. (13 years). 
Fruit Basket 
To play “fruit basket” there must be 
two rows of people opposite each other. 
The one who is “it” names each person 
a different kind of fruit. He must whis¬ 
per it to them so the others won't hear. 
After they are all named, the one who 
is “it” calls oil' two different kinds of 
fruit. Those with the names he calls 
have to change seats. When they change 
the one who is “it” tries to beat one of 
them to a seat. If he docs the one he 
beats i« “it.” But if he does not beat 
them he is still “it.” When the one who 
is “it” says “Fruit Basket” all must 
change seats while he tries to get a seat. 
The one who is left is “it” next time and 
so the game goes on. 
Aubrey Gregory. 
Emma Keidel, a 16-year-old New York 
reader, also sent a description of the same 
game with a few variations. vShe had the 
players sit in a circle and she gave the 
boys names of vegetables and the girls 
names of fruits, the person who it “it” 
then calls out one vegetable and one fruit 
each time. She ended by saying: “This 
is a most enjoyable game and if played 
correctly seldom becomes tiresome.” 
Cross-word Enigma 
Those who worked it out found that 
the enigma given us last month by Ruth 
Dudley was i-c-e—e-r-e-a-m. Here is a 
new one: 
My first is in say, but not in tell, 
My second in sick, but not in well, 
My third is in happy, but not in sad, 
My fourth in book, but not in pad, 
Any girl with a speaking acquaint¬ 
ance with SO kinds of birds has a re¬ 
source that will be a joy to her as long 
as she lives. Once learned they are 
never forgotten, and then it is a matter 
of discovering new facts about the old 
friends and occasionally adding a new 
friend to the list. The same may be 
said for any boy or any older person. 
IIow much better to hunt the birds with 
a field glass or a camera than with a 
A Shelf for the Birds—Picture supplied 
by the Editor 
gun ! The plan of Winter feeding is al¬ 
ways an excellent one, and your editor 
has included among the pictures this 
month a small one of a simple feeding 
shelf he had for several years. At dif¬ 
ferent times juncos, song sparrows, tree 
sparrows, fox sparrows, white-throated 
sparrows, chickadees and others come to 
this shelf and for several nights on one 
occasion a flying squirrel came there to 
get the grain, and we could see it by the 
shine of the lamp through the window. 
native of the South. It grows about 
four feet high and has branches about 
every three inches. The blossoms when 
first open are white and afterward turn 
a little pink. After the petals fall from 
the flowers you see a little ball that grows 
about as big as a walnut. Then it opens 
and something white comes out of it. 
What is it? Leonard Wilber 
Maryland. (13 years). 
Now then, boys and girls, we have 
rarely had a Nature Puzzle about which 
so much may be told as this one. Let’s 
see what you know about this plant or 
have experienced first hand with it. 
Little Lord Fauntleroy 
BY FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT 
Two letters will give the whole answer 
to last month’s Book Puzzle: 
I have never written before but \ have 
often read Our Page and enjoyed it im¬ 
mensely. I am 14 and live on a farm. I 
shall be a junior when I go back to 
school. 
I think the Book Puzzle is about 
“Little Lord Fauntleroy” by Frances 
Hodgson Burnett. Cedric is the boy’s 
name. He always called his mother 
“Dearest” because his father had. When¬ 
ever anyone asked him his name he would 
say: “Little Lord Fauntleroy, I’m going 
to be an earl some day.” IIis grand¬ 
father did not pay much attention to his 
many tenants, but Lord Fauntleroy 
visited them and coaxed his grandfather 
to build new houses for some of them. 
Soon the people of the surrounding coun¬ 
try loved Little Lord Fauntleroy because 
he was good to them. 
Here are a few facts about the author: 
Fiances Hodgson Burnett was born in 
1849. She is called an American author, 
although she was born in England, be¬ 
cause she has stayed here so long and has 
only made a few trips to her native land. 
She married Dr. S. M. Burnett and takes 
Burnett as her pen name. She divorced 
him and married Dr. Stephen Townsend. 
“Little Lord Fauntleroy” is her most 
famous work. She has written also “A 
Lady of Quality.” “The Secret Garden.” 
“Racketty Raeketty House.” Frances 
Hodgson Burnett is considered one of the 
greatest of American authors. I like her 
books very well indeed. I have read 
several. Marie Collins 
Connecticut. (14 years). 
Books and pencils under our arms, 
To find the key to knowledge’s charms. 
Birds and sunlight to us call, 
These inside the schoolhouse wall; 
Patience, all, soon we may 
Gaily skip outdoors to play. 
Mary Leary 
New York. • (14 years). 
What Book Is This? 
(A New Book Puzzle) 
It was in a little Southern home that 
the death of a father occurred. Left in 
the home was a parentless daughter who 
had only an aunt to whose home she was 
taken when her father left her. Her 
aunt was a pious old maid, and made the 
little girl’s new home very unpleasant 
for a while until the child made friends 
in the neighborhood. One of her friends 
was a little boy about her own age. They 
had both been into mischief one day and 
ran to hide in a haystack where they met 
for the first time. They played together 
often until one day the little girl was in 
an automobile accident. She was taken 
care of in her aunt’s home and the doctor 
thought she-would always be an invalid. 
But she was finally cured and even her 
aunt, like many others, learned to love 
her. When she grew into womanhood 
she married her young friend whom she 
met in the haystack and was always 
merry and gay. Doris Ives 
New York. (15 years). 
Credit should also be given to Alice 
Belt (14) of Ohio who sent a descrip¬ 
tion of this same book. In answering 
remember that you are to give both the 
title and author’s name. If you can add 
anything more of interest about either 
the story or the author, so much the 
better. 
September’s School Days 
(An original poem) 
Merrily, merrily, hie we away, 
Hurrying to school each day. 
/ Grew Them Myself—Picture sent by 
John Morrell (6 years), New York 
My fifth is in road, but not in way, 
My sixth in glad, not in dismay, 
My whole is a place we spend part of 
the day. Adeline Schaefer 
New York. (14 years). 
To those who may not understand, we 
will explain that the first, second, third, 
etc., in the enigma refer to the letters 
(Continued on Page 1248) 
Interesting experiences always reward a 
little effort in behalf of our wild crea¬ 
tures. 
A Young Gardener 
I am 13 years old and in the eighth 
grade at school. I have about a mile and 
a half to go. In Summer I live on a 58- 
acre farm with my uncles. I had about 
one-sixth of an acre of onions this year, 
and got 33 hampers. I am sending you 
a picture of myself and some of them. I 
also had a few strawberries and made 
$12 from them. I have a small garden 
in which I raise tomatoes, string beans 
and potatoes. 
I will close now, wishing success to 
Our Page. 
A very interested reader, 
New Jersey. Pearl Fisher. 
Pearl has learned that there is both 
pleasure and profit in raising fruits and 
A Little Fellov> and Some Big Ones — 
Picture sent by Harold Ewing, Ohio 
vegetables. Few experiences in life can 
equal that of sowing seeds in the good 
earth, caring for the growing plants 
faithfully and watching them mature into 
wholesome and useful products. It is 
never too soon to begin doing this for 
oneself, and each season brings new ex¬ 
periences in the garden. 
