48 THE: AUDUBON (BULLE Gia 

stroyed many nests of Bob-O-Link, Dickcissle, and Meadow Lark. 
Too bad. After all, man is bird’s worst enemy. 
From the rear porch, I can hear the distressing cry of the Sora Rail 
from Viens pond. Poor old Sora. Nature did not play fair with him, 
depriving him of handsome wardrobe and grand opera voice. 
As dusk falls the Chipping Sparrows play in my garden like a pair of 
kids. Doubtless again nesting in the raspberries, but the patch is such a 
jungle that I have been unable to locate their home. 
A Dream Realized 
HOW THE IDEA STARTED 
()* brilliant Autumn day in 1900 while my husband and I were 
strolling with friends along the shores of Lake Geneva, we came 
into a bit of woodland that from the beginning had remained in 
its natural state. 
Here was an ideal opportunity for the cultivation of native plants and 
we seized it eagerly. 
Our very ignorance encouraged us and our daily experiences gave a 
new Zest to life. 
We named the place Wychwood after the wych-hazel which we found 
growing in abundance throughout the woods. 
HOW THE IDEA DEVELOPED 
Under the guiding hand of that distinguished leader in Horticulture, 
the late Prof. Charles Sprague Sargent of the Arnold Arboretum, we 
planned our work and each year added new material, being careful to 
follow Nature in the arrangement of the planting. 
Finally we decided to confine our efforts to the Flora of Wisconsin and 
the selection of native plants for all purposes proved a stimulating occu- 
pation. 
To attract birds and provide them with food we planted a variety of 
berry-bearing bushes whose fruit lasted during many months. These 
birds not only delighted our senses but they made away with all sorts 
of harmful insects. They also served us in another totally unexpected 
manner, for they took an active part in the planting and it is to them 
that we owe many of our most interesting effects. 
THE FINAL AIM 
As the years went by and we began to see the results of our experiment, 
as the immediate country-side became more and more civilized, the 
