THE SKYLARK. 
JOHN BURROUGHS relates that a 
number of years ago a friend in 
England sent him a score of Sky- 
larks in a cage. He gave them 
their liberty in a field near where he 
lived. They drifted away, and he never 
heard or saw them again. But one 
Sunday a Scotchman from a neighbor- 
ing city called on him and declared, 
with visible excitement, that on his way 
along the road he had heard a Skylark. 
He was not dreaming; he knew it was 
a Skylark, though he had not heard one 
since he had left the banks of the Doon, 
a quarter of a century or more before. 
The song had given him infinitely more 
pleasure than it would have given to 
the naturalist himself. Many years ago 
some Skylarks were liberated on Long 
Island, and they became established 
there, and may now occasionally be 
heard in certain localities. One sum- 
mer day a lover of birds journeyed out 
from the city in order to observe them. 
A Lark was soaring and singing in the 
sky above him. An old Irishman came 
along and suddenly stopped as if trans- 
fixed to the spot. A look of mingled 
delight and incredulity came into his 
face. Was he indeed hearing the bird 
of his youth? He took off his hat, 
turning his face skyward, and with 
moving lips and streaming eyes stood 
a long time regarding the bird. "Ah," 
thought the student of nature, "if I 
could only hear the bird as he hears 
that song — with his ears!" To the man 
of science it was only a bird song to be 
critically compared to a score of others; 
but to the other it brought back his 
youth and all those long-gone days on 
his native hills! 
NATURE STUDY AND NATURE'S RIGHT. 
There is another study which should 
go hand in hand with nature-work — na- 
ture's rights, people's rights. Too 
many little feet are learning to trespass; 
too many little hands are learning to 
steal, for that is what it really is. Chil- 
dren are young and thoughtless and 
love flowers. But does loving and wish- 
ing for things which are not ours make 
it right to take them? If the teacher 
can develop the love of nature, can she 
not develop the sense of honor also? 
Cannot the moral growth and the men- 
tal growth of the child develop to- 
gether? 
To love nature is not to ruthlessly 
rob her of her treasures. Therefore in 
collecting for the school-room teach 
the children to use thought and care in 
breaking the tender branches. They 
should remember that each flower on 
the fruit-tree will in time become fruit. 
Mother Nature has taken time and lov- 
ing care to bring forth the leaves and 
flowers. The different parts of the 
flowers may be studied without sacri- 
ficing many blossoms. 
And the birds, why rob them of nests 
or eggs? Many ways can be found for 
studying nests, eggs, and birds, without 
causing suffering. Nature and science 
study, taught by thethoughtlessteacher, 
can do much harm. — A. G. Bullock in 
School Journal. 
176 
