‘Ibc  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1345 
You  can  make  witches,  cats  and  owls 
in  silhouette  by  cutting  them  out  of  card¬ 
board  and  dipping  in  wax  from  old  rec¬ 
ords  melted  up.  Windows  are  very  pret¬ 
ty,  especially  from  the  outside,  with 
large  round  moons  of  yellow  crepe  paper 
pasted  on  the  glass,  or  with  a  natural 
limb  fastened  up  with  a  black  paper  owl 
on  it.  It  starts  the  fun  for  everyone  to 
tell  a  riddle,  and  we  had  such  good  ones. 
Here  is  one:  Nothing  so  long,  nothing  so 
strong,  as  lies  on  the  kitchen  door. 
New  York.  grace  wiikat 
(15  years). 
A  Charm 
If  on  a  grinning  pumpkin 
An  old  black  cat  you  see, 
Hold  out  a  lighted  candle 
And  witches  and  goblins  flee. 
Author? 
New  York.  Sent  by  anna  Rogers 
(15  years). 
What  Happens  in  the  Dark 
Every  boy  and  girl  knows  what  fun  it 
is  to  dress  up  on  Hallowe'en  night  and 
sally  forth  with  sheets  and  Jack-o’-lau- 
ferns  to  make  the  round  of  the  neighbor¬ 
hood.  It  often  happens — perhaps  it  al- 
take  to  doing  little  tasks  we  know  need 
doing— someone’s  wood  piled  neatly  in  a 
shed,  another’s  leaves  raked  up  and 
burned,  another’s  little  patch  of  corn 
husked  out  and  pumpkins  stored  away. 
There  are  lonely  men  and  women  strug- 
Dr&irn  by  Elizabeth  Steed  (13  Years), 
Connecticut 
gling  hard  in  every  neighborhood.  What 
help  a  crew  of  husky  boys  could  give  to 
such  in  one  evening’s  lark  with  kindly 
purpose  back  of  it!  The.  boys  and  girls 
who  read  Our  Page  might  well  be  leaders 
in  such  plans  as  these.  .1  fake  people  ylad, 
not  mad! 
The  Kingfisher 
I  think  the  answer  to  the  new  Nature 
Puzzle  is  a  kingfisher.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  birds  of  our  country.  As- 
you  walk  along  the  banks  of  a  stream  you 
may  often  see  one  darting  through  the 
air.  It  perches  on  a  branch  over  the 
water  and  waits  patiently  until  a  fish 
passes  underneath.  Then  it  drops  sud¬ 
denly  into  the  water,  splashes  about  for  a 
moment  or  two  and  then  return  with  its 
victim  struggling  in  its  beak.  It  surely 
is  fun  to  watch  them. 
New  York.  dorothy  Butterfield 
(14  years). 
Drawn  by  Rebecca ■  Spencer  (12  Years), 
Maine 
ways  happens — that  there  comes  the  im¬ 
pulse  to  play  some  prank  or  jest  that  in 
the  bright  light  of  day  would  never  be 
considered  at  all.  And  if  we  tell  the 
truth,  it  will  be  that  these  “practical 
jokes”  are  not  always  funny  or  harmless. 
They  sometimes  injure  and  they  usually 
anger  those  who  are  the  victims.  Nowt 
we  who  have  in  other  years  yielded  to 
such  impulse  will  confess  in  our  most 
secret  hearts  that  it  was  not  good  fun 
after  all,  that  there  was  less  charm  and 
mystery  in  the  Hallowe’en  adventure  after 
such  a  deed  than  there  had  been  before; 
in  short,  that  it  “left  a  bad  taste  in  our 
mouths.” 
Could  we  not  turn  the  tables  round 
this  year,  and  have  what  happens  in  the 
dark  be  something  that  will  make  us  glad 
we  did  it?  Suppose  we  think  over  the 
The  answer  to  the  Nature  Puzzle  is 
the  kingfisher.  As  I  live  near  a  large 
creek  I  have  seen  many  of  them.  They 
seem  to  me  to  be  a  very  interesting  bird. 
This  Summer  when  we  would  go  down  to 
the  creek  to  swim  we  would  watch  them. 
Towards  evening  or  in  early  morning  -we 
would  see  more  of  them.  They  had  their 
nests  in  the  side  of  the  creek  bank.  And 
as  this  creek  had  an  abundant  supply  of 
minnows  this  was  indeed  a  good  place  to 
raise  their  young.  ALICE  piiair. 
New  York. 
Several  readers  sent  drawings  of  the 
kingfisher,  of  which  the  best  was  from 
Charlotte  Booth,  but  since  a  Hallowe’en 
drawing  of  hers  is  used  I  selected  Charles 
Stefanec’s  kingfisher.  It  shows  well  how 
the  bird  perches  over  the  water  and 
watches  for  food.  For  the  most  part  the 
fish  that  the  kingfisher  catches  are  small 
and  unimportant,  but  sometimes  it  does 
harm  to  fisheries  and  has  to  be  con¬ 
trolled.  There  is  no  bird  just  like  it,  and 
few  with  such  interesting  habits.  Every 
people  in  our  neighborhood  for  whom  we 
could  do  some  little  act  of  kindness  as  we 
make  our  holiday  rounds.  Would  there  _ 
not  be  just  as  great  a  thrill  in  stealing 
up  to  a  door  or  window  with  a  little  gift 
of  fruit  or  nuts — or  whatever  we  may 
have  that  our  neighbor  does  not  have — 
in  giving  a  sharp  knock  and  in  racing 
away  to  hide  with  our  lanterns  at  a  safe 
distance  to  watch  the  result?  Would 
not  the  sight  of  first  sudden  anger  turned 
quickly  to  surprise  and  pleasure  well  re¬ 
pay  us  for  our  new  plan  and  the  little 
trouble  it  will  take?  Suppose  instead  of 
unhinging  gates  and  moving  things  out  of 
place  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  we 
country  boy  and  girl  should  know  the 
kingfisher. 
A  New  Nature  Puzzle 
This  insect  has  three  divisions  to  its 
body  ;  head,  thorax,  abdomen.  It  is  black 
in  color  and  very  common  in  Summer. 
There  are  many  species.  The  female 
builds  her  nest  of  mud  in  sheltered  places, 
generally  on  fences  or  on  the  sides  of 
barns,  either  on  the  inside  of  on  the  out¬ 
side  under  the  eaves.  It  wall  also  enter 
deserted  rooms  of  houses,  and  sometimes 
those  that  are  used.  The  nest  is  built 
with  a  varying  number  of  mud  cells,  usu¬ 
ally  placed  in  a  single  row,  but  some¬ 
times  in  double  rows.  Food  for  the  young 
is  placed  in  the  cells.  This  consists  of 
spiders  which  are  stung  and  paralyzed. 
As  many  are  placed  in  each  cell  as  it  will 
hold.  On  the  last  one  put  in  the  egg  is 
laid.  Then  the  cell  is  closed  up.  The 
egg  hatches  into  the  larva,  which  begins 
to  feed  immediately.  After  10  days  or 
two  weeks  the  larva  reaches  full  growth 
and  forms  a  cocoon  in  the  cell,  where  it 
passes  the  Winter  and  comes  out  in 
Spring  full  grown.  ‘What  is  it? 
New  York.  carrie  Phillips. 
Rebecca  of  Sunnybrook  Farm 
BY  KATE  DOUGLAS  WIGGIN 
This  is  the  answer  to  last  month’s 
Book  Puzzle,  as  all  of  you  know  who  have 
ever  read  the  book.  And  if  you  have  not 
read  it,  try  to  do  so  by  all  means,  as 
well  as  some  of  the  other  books  by  this 
charming  story  writer,  who  passed  away 
just  last  August  while  on  a  visit  to  Eng¬ 
land.  This  is  the  reason  it  seemed  to  me 
specially  fitting  to  have  this  book  puzzle 
now. 
You  will  be  interested  in  the  drawing 
by  Agnes  Berglund,  and  Rebecca  Spencer 
(13  years)  of  Maine  deserves  mention  for 
the  drawing  she  sent.  Also,  here  are  a 
couple  of  letters : 
...>K^te  DouSlas  Wigg'iu  is  the  author  of 
Rebecca  of  Sunnybrook  Farm.”  She 
was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  in  1859. 
Her  maiden  name  was  Smith.  She  grad¬ 
uated  from  Abbott  Academy  at  Andover, 
Mass.,  in  1878.  She  married  Samuel 
U  lggin  in  1880.  After  his  death  she 
married  George  C.  Riggs  in  1895.  Some 
of  the  books  she  wrote  are  “The  Birds’ 
Christmas  Carol.”  “The  Storv  of  Patsy  ” 
“Polly  Oliver’s  Problem,”  “The  Affair  at 
the  Ir!n”  *!nd  many  others.  Kate  Douglas 
"  iggin  died  this  year,  edna  rydrerg 
Rhode  Island.  (10 years). 
Most  of  her  writings  appeared  under 
the  name  of  Kate  Douglas  'Wiggin,  al¬ 
though  her  married  name  was  Mrs. 
Riggs.  She  established  the  first  free  kin¬ 
dergartens  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Many 
articles  relating  to  kindergarten  work 
have  been  written  by  her,  but  she  is  espe¬ 
cially  noted  for  her  charming  story  books. 
Among  these  are  “Timothy’s  Quest,” 
"Mother  Carey’s  Chickens,”  “New  Chron- 
Drawn  by  Charles  Stefanec  (12  Years), 
Connecticut 
ides  of  Rebecca,”  and  “Susanna  and 
Sue.”  besides  “Rebecca  of  Sunnybrook 
Farm,”  her  most  popular  book,  which  has 
been  successfully  dramatized.  It  is 
clearly  shown  that  she  was  fond  of  trav¬ 
eling  by  the  fact  that  she  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  received  her  education  in 
New  England,  established  kindergartens 
in  California  and  died  in  England  on 
August,  1923,  while  visiting  there. 
Illinois.  anna  graham 
(14  years) . 
What  Book  Is  This? 
In  the  early  days  of  New  England  all 
t.h£  money  that  was  used  was  brought 
from  'Europe.  Money  was  very  scarce 
in  those  times. 
There  was  a  law  passed  providing  for  ' 
the  coinage  of  small  pieces  of  silver.  They 
appointed  a  man  to  make  these  pieces  of 
silver.  It  was  agreed  that  for  every  20 
pieces  he  was  to  get  one  to  pay  for  his 
work.  In  a  few  years  he  was  very  rich. 
Now  this  man  ball  a  daughter.  A  cer¬ 
tain  young  man  fell  in  love  with  her.  He 
asked  the  father  for  her.  The  njan  told 
him.  “YTes.”  After  the  marriage  cere¬ 
mony  was  over  the  father  whispered  a 
word  to  two  of  his  men  servants  who  im¬ 
mediately  went  out  and  soon  returned 
lugging  in  a  large  pair  of  scales,  ITe  told 
his  daughter  to  get  into  one  side  of  the 
scales.  She  did  so.  “Now,”  said  the 
man,  “bring  that  box  hither.”  It  was 
filled  with  the  silver  that  was  the  man’s 
honest  share  of  the  coinage.  Then  the 
servants  heaped  the  other  side  of  the 
scales  with  the  silver  until  the  young  lady 
was  weighed  from  the  floor.  “There, 
son - !”  cried  the  honest  mint  master, 
“take  these  for  my  daughter’s  portion.  It 
is  not  every  wife  that  is  worth  her  weight 
in  silver.”  What  book  is  this? 
New  York.  Gladys  mitoheltree. 
In  aUSwering  give  the  title  of  the  book 
and  the  author’s  name.  If  you  can,  send 
something  about  the  author’s  life.  Per¬ 
haps  someone  will  draw  a  picture  of  the 
weighing  scene.  It  would  be  interesting. 
Puzzle 
The  answer  to  last  month's  Hidden 
Fruit  Puzzle  is  as  follows:  (1)  apple, 
(2)  orange,  (3)  lemon,  (4)  pear,  (5) 
Drawn  by  Agnes  Berglund  (14  Years), 
Michigan 
peach,  (6)  plum.  Many  of  you  found 
it  easy  to  solve,  but  interesting,  none  the 
less. 
This  month  we  have  a  different  kind  of 
puzzle,  known  usually  as  a  Cross-word 
Enigma.  It  was  sent  by  Frank  Warner* 
a  13-year-old  Pennsylvania  reader,  and 
is  as  follows: 
My  first  is  in  win,  but  not  in  lose, 
My  second  in  like,  but  not  in  choose, 
My  third  is  in  one,  but  not  in  two, 
My  fourth  in  thou,  but  not  in  you, 
My  fifth  is  in  ice,  but  not  in  snow. 
My  sixth  in  ribbon,  but  not  in  bow. 
My  w’hole  some  like  and  others  fear. 
We  see  it  once  in  every  year. 
Notes 
The  words  in  the  Box  were  adapted 
by  your  editor  from  a  suggestion  sent  by 
Margaret  Sullivan,  a  13-year-old  New 
Jersey  reader. 
Recently  I  received  a  letter  calling  at¬ 
tention  to  the  fact  that  one  of  the  write¬ 
ups  on  William  Cullen  Bryant  that  we 
published  in  the  August  page  was  copied 
almost  word  for  word  from  “Woodburn 
&  Moran’s  Elementary  History,”  without 
giving  credit.  This  is  just  the  kind  of 
thing  I  have  Warned  our  readers  about 
more  than  once.  It  is  impossible  for  me 
as  your  editor  to,  know  whether  what  you 
send  is  original  or  taken  from  someone 
else  unless  you  tell  me.  If  it  is  copied 
we  should  always  give  credit.  Please  be 
very  careful  about  this. 
Have  a  fine  time  Hallowe’en,  and  after 
it  is  over  write  and  tell  your  editor  all 
about  it.  Als6,  be  sure  to  send  something 
for  the  Thanksgiving  Page.  Address 
Edward  M.  Tuttle,  in  care  The  Rural 
New-Yorker,  333  Webt  30th  St.,  New 
York  City. 
Draxcn  by  Norman  TTallock  (16  Years).  Connecticut 
