520 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
March  31,  1923 
] 
Boys  and  Gir 
By  Edward  M.  Tuttl< 
s 
k 
Our  page  needs  new  helpers,  so  get  to  work. 
Don’t  say  “1  can’t,”  for  wo  don't  love  a  shirk. 
Drawn  by  Henry  Kiemle  (16  Yearn),  New  York 
Memory  Verse 
The  Wind 
1  saw  you  toss  the  kites  on  high 
And  blow  the  birds  about  the  sky  : 
And  all  around  I  heard  you  pass. 
Like  ladies’  skirts  across  the  grass — 
O  wind,  a-blowin'g  all  day  long, 
O  wind,  that  sings  so  loud  a  song  ! 
I  saw  the  different  things  you  did, 
But  always  you  yourself  you  hid. 
I  felt  you  push,  1  heard  you  call, 
I  could  not  see  yourself  at  all — 
O  wind,  a -blowing  all  day  long, 
O  Avind.  that  sings  so  loud  a  song! 
O  you  that  are  so  strong  and  cold. 
O  blower,  are  you  young  or  old ? 
Are  you  a  beast  of  field  and  tree, 
Or  just  a  stronger  child  than  me? 
O  wind,  a-blowing  all  day  long, 
O  wind,  that  sings  so  loud  a  song! 
- ROBERT  LOUIS  STEVENSON. 
Sent  by  Eleanor  Murdock. 
Massachusetts. 
Eleanor’s  selection  of  a  poem  tits  in 
well  with  our  plans  this  mouth,  and  gives 
us  a  touch  with  the  great  author,  Steven¬ 
son,  who  wrote  so  many  things  beloved  by 
boys  and  girls.  If  you  do  not  already 
know  “The  Wind,”  copy  it  in  your  note¬ 
books  and  learn  it  by  heart. 
Henry’s  drawing,  too,  starts  us  off 
right,  for  after  the  cold  and  stormy  Win¬ 
ter  we  have  just  been  through,  every  sign 
of  Spring  is  doubly  welcome.  Henry 
says : 
I  have  tried  to  sketch  what  I  consider 
a  messenger  of  Spring,  who  tells  us  in 
his  own  quiet  way  that  Spring  is  here, 
as  he  sits  sunning  himself  on  a  warm 
rock.  lie  is  a  small,  friendly  creature, 
who  spends  his  Winter  in  an  underground 
den,  living  on  the  fruits  of  his  Fall's 
labor.  So  when  the  warm  Spring  suns 
call  him  forth,  we  are  all  glad  to  see  him. 
for  then  we  know  that  thereafter  our  bird 
friends  will  be  arriving,  and  the  long, 
hard  Winter  is  at  an  end. 
Many  of  you  have  asked  about  keep¬ 
ing  lists  of  the  signs  of  Spring  again 
this  year.  Of  course,  keep  them  if  you 
really  want  to.  It  is  a  happy  thing  to 
do,  aud  teaches  us  to  observe  more  quickly 
and  clearly  the  changes  that  each  new 
day  is  bringing  in  the  great  outdoor 
world.  If  you  want  to  send  copies  of  the 
lists  to  Our  Page  later  on.  do  so.  but  at 
least  keep  them  for  your  own  pleasure. 
Those  who  kept  lists  last  year  and  the 
year  before  will  be  interested  to  look 
back  aud  see  how  this  season  compares 
with  those,  and  hoAV  many  new  things 
your  sharper  eyes  and  keener  interest 
have  led  you  to  see. 
This  Should  be  Our  Best  Page 
As  he  writes  your  editor  is  surrounded 
by  piles  of  letters  and  drawings  sent  by 
more  than  600  readers.  Such  a  wonder¬ 
ful  collection  made  by  so  many  willing 
workers  from  which  to  choose  the  things 
that  will  be  eagerly  read  and  enjoyed  by 
thousands  and  thousands  of  boys  and 
girls.  And  the  thing  that  pleases  me 
most  is  the  spirit  shown  in  the  letters 
that  you  are  writing.  I  can  remember, 
in  the  early  days  of  Our  Page,  before 
you  understood  so  well  what  it  stands 
for,  that  sometimes  letters  would  come 
in  which  said  what  amounted  to  this: 
“Here  is  my  letter”  (or  drawing  or  other 
contribution )  ;  “if  you  don’t  print  it,  this 
is  the  last  time  you'll  hear  from  me.” 
But  now  I  find  things  like  this,  taken 
from  letters  right  *n  my  hand  :  “I  am 
enclosing  a  drawing.  It  isn’t  very  good, 
but  it’s  fun  to  try.”  “This  is  my  first 
attempt,  and  if  it  is  not  successful,  you 
will  hear  from  me  again.”  “I  cannot 
draw  very  well,  but  I  thought  I  would 
try,  and  keep  on  trying.”  “If  my  pic¬ 
ture  isn’t  printed  this  time,  I  am  going 
to  keep  trying  until  I  draw  one  good 
enough  to  print.”  “Tonight  I  happened 
to  glance  down  at  the  table,  and  The 
Rural  New-Yorker  was  lying  with  the 
Boys’  aud  Girls’  page  facing  me.  Be¬ 
lieve  me,  sir,  I  got  interested  at  once, 
and  although  I  may  never  have  anything 
appear  on  the  page,  I  shall  try,  and.  any¬ 
way.  I  shall  enjoy  what  the  other  boys 
and  girls  put  on.”  What  could  be  finer 
than  that?  With  such  a  spirit  behind 
him  your  editor  can  set  to  work  to  make 
Our  Page  mean  more  and  more  to  us  as 
the  months  go  by.  Now.  let's  see  what 
good  things  we  have  on  hand  this  time. 
Directions  for  Starting  in  the  Chicken 
Business 
1.  A  dozen  eggs  and  a  good  broody 
hen. 
Drawn  by  Martha  Everett  (1.’/  Years) 
Net o  York 
6.  A  quiet  place  and  fi-esh  water  and 
feed ;  also  oyster  shells. 
4.  Let  the  hen  sit  a  Aveek  and  then 
look  after  her  every  day. 
5.  Each  day  the  chicks  come  out  take 
them  away  from  the  hen  and  take  them 
in  the  house. 
6.  When  the  chicks  ai-e  all  out,  let  the 
hen  free  for  a  Avhile  to  eat  grass.  Get 
the  coop  ready.  It  must  be  whiteAvashed, 
and  put  clean  ashes  in  the  coop  or  hay 
seeds. 
7.  Put  the  chicks  in  the  coop  Avith  the 
hen  on  a  nice  sunny  day. 
8.  The  first  day  the  chicks  Avill  not  eat 
much.  But  give  them  a  little  dish  ot 
water  and  a  little  food. 
6.  Each  day  they  will  eat  more,  and 
one  must  gi\’e  them  more. 
10.  When  a  shower  comes  they  must 
all  be  called  or  chased  together,  so  the\ 
do  not  get  too  wet. 
11.  The  hen  may  be  let  out  so  that 
she  can  scratch  and  take  a  dust  bath 
with  the  chicks. 
12.  At  night  they  must  be  closed  good 
13.  Do  not  let  the  chicks  right  out  in 
the  morning  Avhen  the  grass  is  very  aa-cl 
with  dew. 
By  the  AA-ay,  avc  need  a  larger  supply 
of  good  nature  puzzles.  Put  on  your 
“puzzle  cap”  and  Avrite  the  best  descrip¬ 
tion  you  can  of  something  in  nature  Avith- 
out  telling  its  name. 
Our  Artists 
Our  Page  this  month  is  more  than 
Drawn  by  Michael  Goldberg  (9  Years) 
Connecticut 
usually  full  of  draAvings,  both  for  the 
rhyme  and  for  general  illustration,  but 
14.  Look  in  the  coop  every  day  i<>  see 
if  any  dead  are  in. 
15.  The  coop  must  be  cleaned  twice  a 
Aveek  or  oftener. 
16.  Let  the  chicks  run  around  as  they 
Avish,  and  give  them  plenty  of  food  when 
they  begin  to  groAv  larger. 
17.  Give  them  Avater  at  least  twice  a 
day. 
18.  When  they  grow  larger  and  do  not 
need  a  mother,  put  them  in  a  pen. 
Pennsylvania.  Katherine  french. 
there  Avas  such  a  tine  collection  that  I 
just  could  not  narrow  them  doAvn  any 
more,  and  even  so,  had  to  leave  out  many 
that  were  Avorthy  of  a  place.  Honorable 
Mention  should  be  given  to  the  following  : 
Geoi-ge  Smart  (9),  Hortense  Duquette 
(1.1),  Beatrice  Heppler  (11),  Lymvood 
IIoavc  (12).  Martha  Ratzlaff  (13),  My¬ 
ron  Bogardusi  (13),  Evelyn  Newman 
(15),  and  William  Gates  (15,  of  NeAV 
Bird  Houses 
A  bird  house  should  be  built  at  a  nat¬ 
ural  place,  where  birds  build  their  own 
nests.  Most  birds  do  not  make  their 
nests  close  to  Avhere  there  is  any  neAV 
Avood  or  paint.  Birds  have  many  enemies, 
and  will  not  build  their  nests  where  any¬ 
thing  can  get  them.  Some  birds  that  live 
in  houses  are  wrens,  bluebirds,  martins, 
doves  and  pigeons.  They  Avill  not  make 
their  nests  in  anything  that  has  too  wide 
an  opening.  There  should  be  only  one 
opening  for  the  birds  to  enter.  A  perch 
should  be  just  beloAV  the  door. 
AVAYNE  SPANGLER  (10  years). 
Pennsylvania. 
The  Nature  Puzzles 
Most  of  you  had  little  trouble  in  guess¬ 
ing  that  your  editor’s  Nature  Puzzle  was 
a  description  of  Spring.  Here  is  a  new 
one : 
AVI  I  AT  IS  IT? 
We  sow  them  in  a  box  in  early  Spring. 
When  they  are  about  tAvo  inches  high 
they  are  transplanted  into  larger  boxes. 
When  the  frost  leayres  the  ground  they 
are  planted  in  the  open  ground.  We  pro¬ 
tect  them  from  the  cutworms  by  putting 
paper  around  them.  When  they  get  older 
they  arc  protected  by  placing  stakes  near 
them.  Soon  after  the  small  yelloAV  blos¬ 
soms  appear  on  them  and  then  green  fruit 
appears  where  the  blossoms  fall  off.  When 
the  fruit  ripens  it  is  yellow  or  red.  and 
is  very  good  to  eat. 
frank  sciiatzle  (12  years). 
Gonnecticut. 
Drawn  in  Pencil  by  Paul  Weidler  (11 
Yea  rs) ,  M  ich  iya  n 
York;  Irving  Johnson  (10),  Myrtis  Dill 
(11),  Ethel  Hart  (12),  and  Gladys 
Zuriker,  of  Massachusetts ;  Charles  8te- 
fanec  (12),  Elena  D’Agostino  (141  and 
Ruth  Warner  of  Connecticut;  Mary 
Cook  (10).  Wayne  Spangler  (10),  and 
Jacob  Speicher  of  Pennsylvania  ;  Wesley 
Derick  (12)  and  Richard  Kelley  (14) 
of  New  Hampshire;  Helen  Hunt  aud 
Elsie  Zauner  of  Ohio;  Benno  Weidler 
(10),  and  Elizabeth  Wheeler  of  MichL 
gan ;  Marjorie  Towns  (13)  of  Maine: 
Margaret  Halter  (16)  of  Maryland; 
