This pretty yellow butterfly 
is a matured garden pest 
The Birds and Butterflies 
of a Suburban Garden 
HOW A DISH OF WATER SET AMONG THE 
FLOWERS MADE FRIENDS WITH THE BIRDS AND 
HELPED CAPTURE THE BUTTERFLIES—THE IN¬ 
TERESTING DOUBLE LIFE OF THESE INSECTS 
by Zulma De L. Steele 
Photographs by the Author 
This was once the destructive 
cabbage worm (Pieris Rapae) 
T HE charm and attraction of a garden, be it large or small, is 
primarily, of course, the harvest of bloom and beauty 
which it yields; but aside from that, we have discovered that our 
little garden has been the means of bringing us many additional 
interests and pleasures. 
It may be surprising, for instance, to learn how many birds and 
butterflies soon dis¬ 
cover the allure¬ 
ment of freshly- 
worked soil, a 
drinking pool, and 
beds of honey¬ 
laden blossoms 
even though they 
be in the midst of 
a city. 
Our custom has 
been to keep a 
large saucer of 
water in the yard 
for the birds, and 
we soon discovered 
that as there was 
no fountain in the 
immediate vicinity, 
and no open water 
nearer than the 
park lake, a quar¬ 
ter of a mile dis¬ 
tant, the water 
proved a great at¬ 
traction. This sug¬ 
gested the idea of 
something more 
ornamental than a 
dish of water, and 
a hollow mound of stones was built, which was about three feet in 
diameter at the base. The center was filled with garden soil and 
firmly imbedded in the top was placed the largest terra-cotta 
saucer that could be purchased. Around the edge of the saucer 
was set out sweet alyssum and a delicate variety of 
sedum, and lower down among the crevices of the 
stone, slips of English ivy were planted. The 
saucer was kept clean and filled with fresh water. 
We witnessed many early morning baths in this 
miniature pool. The robins enjoyed it most often, 
chasing each other and quarreling to have the first 
dip, sharing it willingly with the sparrows, but 
always objecting to the intrusion of their own kind. 
Sometimes as many as five birds would strut up 
and down the lawn, impatiently waiting their turn. 
The English starlings with their sweet boy-like 
whistle, often the white-throated Peabody birds, 
the vireoes, the gold finches, and an occasional 
blue bird, came to drink, if not to bathe, in the little, cool, flower- 
circled pool. Many other birds were occasional visitors, and later 
in the season a migrant Louisiana water-thrush stopped for a call; 
and in November a number of hermit thrushes and juncoes re¬ 
mained for several days feeding and roosting in the arbor. One 
thrush seemed loath to leave us, and delayed his departure until 
after Thanksgiving. 
When summer 
came a great many 
butterflies haunted 
the garden, and 
about the middle of 
August, as a young 
lad was coming to 
visit us, we con¬ 
ceived the idea of 
making a collection 
of such butterflies 
as could be found 
within the limits of 
a suburban garden. 
The Fisherman’s 
landing net was 
borrowed, and a 
butterfly net of 
mosquito bar was 
substituted for the 
fish net. At the 
drug store ten 
cents’ worth of 
cyanide of potassi¬ 
um was bought, 
and placed in the 
bottom of a glass 
fruit jar. In order 
to protect it and 
keep it in place, a little cotton was laid with it, and over the whole 
was glued a piece of strong white paper, perforated with holes. 
To cut and fit the paper, we placed the jar upon it and drew a 
pencil mark around it; then with the same center, but a radius 
about an inch longer, another circle was marked 
off. At intervals of about an inch, slits were made 
from the circumference to the inner circle — as in 
the diagram on page 29. After making the air 
holes, the edges of the tabs cut were touched with 
glue and bent inward, making a platform which, 
when slipped to the bottom of the jar, prevented 
the deadly poison from coming in contact with any¬ 
thing. Labelled “Poison,” and with the rubber- 
protected cover screwed tight, all was ready for the 
first specimen. Into this jar the butterflies were 
dropped, and in a few moments painlessly killed. 
We usually left them in the jar for several hours or 
overnight, to make sure there would be no restora- 
A plan of the paper cover 
devised to keep the poi¬ 
son from spreading 
( 29 ) 
