

Dr WILLIAM BRUETTE, Editor 

Member of Audit Bureau of Circulation 



THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL WILL BE TO 
studiously promote a healthful interest in outdoor 
recreation, and a refined taste for natural objects. 
August 14, 1873. 
RESTLESSNESS AND SPRING 
HE early months call forth more sheer rest- 
T lessness in the blood than the other seasons 
of the year. When the first warm winds 
sweep out of austral distance and adventure along 
the waterways, when snows melt under strong 
suns and the song of trickling waters fills the air, 
there is a feeling of relief abroad. A hidden move- 
ment commences. Earth throbs and thrills. Re- 
lease from the fetters of a snowy mood is freedom 
regained, afresh. It touches every living thing 
from lichens to man. A joyance of life begins to 
spread over endless miles. The world seems 
drenched with the anticipatory excitements of ap- 
proaching events. 
Mortal hearts beat in a restless manner, awak- 
ened by the invisible sorcery which stirs the sap 
in the trees, bursts the buds, sets wild life to the 
movements of spring madness and mating. Primi- 
tive instincts fill the soul with a spell that has come 
down the ages, a lure going back to when wild 
stallions challenged from crag to crag and the first 
gray morning sent man to cover afraid of so much 
beauty. The gentle adventure of spring teaches 
man he is ever the dawnman, the cave dweller, the 
flesh eater, the herb drinker, the nomad. Man 
enjoys and thrills with the prodigality of this 
strange exhilaration, little knowing the source of 
rapture until years afield suddenly unfold truth 
and startling things. Four walls furnish the sen- 
sations of a caged bird. Desire wants air,- far 
skies, landscapes slipping to the dim blue line of 
the rim of the world. The spirit of wanderlust 
hold sway, of spring pulsing with life and aching 
with old dreams. 
NATURE FROM A TRAIN WINDOW 
HE city-wearied commuter who is willing to 
give up his game of pinochle or his book in 
exchange for a passing glimpse of nature as 
the “8:20” takes him to his daily task will be re- 
warded richly, not alone by the beauty of an 
awakening landscape, but also by the arrival of 
the players who take part in nature’s summer 
drama. 
Many people believe that because their place of 
residence is but twenty miles from a great city, 
there is little or no opportunity to see any forms 
of wild life other than sparrows, starlings and 
grackles. That this condition exists only in a lim- 
ited way is rather the rule than the exception, how- 
ever. Wild creatures seem to sense man’s protec- 
tive possibilities along with his destructive ten- 
dencies. To illustrate: crows and hawks will care- 
fully avoid an individual walking, keeping just out 
of gunshot; they will allow a motor car, train or 
horse-drawn vehicle to pass within a few yards of 
them. Hence the commuter’s chance to observe. 
A correspondent writes that he has seen a pair 
of wood ducks on a small stream just outside the 
limits of New York City, daily for a week. He has 
also observed Cooper’s, sharp shinned, marsh and 
American sparrow hawks besides the usual spring 
migrants, meadow larks, redwings, bluebirds, flick- 
ers, grackles and many other song and insectivo- 
rous birds. 
To the nature lover, a few moments daily search 
of the countryside should bring real rewards.. 
A VACATION OPPORTUNITY 
HE Government is offering this year without 
T expense a month of outdoor life to 40,000 
young men between the ages of 17 and 24. 
Thirty Citizens’ Military Training Camps will be 
conducted at points distributed throughout the 
country. No military obligation is involved in en- 
rolling at these camps, which are maintained by 
the War Department to promote health and good 
citizenship. The program calls for military drill 
and instruction in the forenoon; the afternoons are 
given to a variety of outdoor sports under expert 
Supervision and indoor entertainment is provided 
for the evenings in the form of amateur dramatics, 
lectures, concerts and moving pictures. Army 
Chaplains direct the religious life of the camps for 
men of all faiths and Army Hostesses are in charge 
of all social meetings. Good citizenship is pro- 
moted by lectures, conferences, classes and debates. 
The men are quartered in permanent barracks or 
in large well-floored Army tents. The mess is under 
the direction of experienced officers, who are au- 
thorized to purchase an abundance of meats, fresh 
vegetables and fruits, thus affording a well-bal- 
anced and appetizing ration, prepared by well- 
trained Army cooks and served with due regard to 
the table manners of a typical American home. 
Thirty days of outdoor life with all expenses paid. 
THE WITCHERY OF POSSESSION 
T is a great moment when man can stand in the 
| open door of his own cabin and look into the 
dusks of blue hills. He feels a sort of splendid 
isolation. It is geographical satisfaction, a spiri- 
tual affinity with environs far from the city smells 
and frets of men. Secure in a seclusion of silence 
and landscape, odors and fleeting colors, feathery 
sounds and glimpses of furry shapes, he feels the 
crowded areas may be as far away as Thibet or 
Patagonia. 
The long gray shadows hold no fears nor hide 
any dangers. Days spent under the green roof 
are burdened with endless surprises. The sable 
nights have the security of a refuge. It is like 
home. No doubt you have been going into the 
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