But come on; I am not going back yet. This is the last day of winter. Cold? Yes, it is cold, raw, wretched, gloomy, with snow still in the woods, with frost still in the ground, and with not a frog or hyla anywhere to be heard. But come along. This is the last day of winter—of winter? No, no, it is the first day of spring. Robins back, phœbes back, watercress for the table, chickweed in blossom, and a bird’s nest with eggs in it! Winter? Spring? Birds’ eggs, did I say?
The almanac is mixed again. It always is. Who’s Who in the Seasons when all of this is happeningon the 21st of March? For here is the bird’s nest with eggs in it, just as I said.
Watch the hole up under that stub of a limb while I tap on the trunk. How sound asleep! But I will wake them.Rap-rap-rap!There he comes—the big barred owl!
Climb up and take a peek at the eggs, but don’t you dare to touch them! Of course you will not. I need not have been so quick and severe in my command; for, if we of this generation do not know as much about some things as our fathers knew, we do at least know better than they that the owls are among our best friends and are to be most jealously protected.
Climb up, I say, and take a peek at those round white eggs, and tell me, Is it spring or winter? Is it the last day, or the first day, or the first and last in one? What a high mix-up is the weather—especially this New England sort!
But look at that! A snowflake! Yes, it is beginning to snow—with the sun crossing the line! It is beginning to snow, and down with the first flakes, like a bit of summer sky drops a bluebird, calling softly, sweetly, with notes that melt warm as sunshine into our hearts.
“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.” But see how it snows! Yes, but see—
The willows gleam with silver light;The maples crimson glow—The first faint streaks on winter’s east,Far-off and low.The northward geese, with winged wedge,Have split the frozen skies,And called the way for weaker wings,Where midnight lies.To-day a warm wind wakes the marsh;I hear the hylas peepAnd o’er the pebbly ford, unbound,The waters leap.The lambs bleat from the sheltered folds;Low whispers spread the hills:The rustle of the spring’s soft robesThe forest fills.The night, ah me! fierce flies the stormAcross the dark dead wold;The swift snow swirls; and silence fallsOn stream and fold.All white and still lie stream and hill—The winter dread and drear!Then from the skies a bluebird fliesAnd—spring is here!
The willows gleam with silver light;The maples crimson glow—The first faint streaks on winter’s east,Far-off and low.
The willows gleam with silver light;
The maples crimson glow—
The first faint streaks on winter’s east,
Far-off and low.
The northward geese, with winged wedge,Have split the frozen skies,And called the way for weaker wings,Where midnight lies.
The northward geese, with winged wedge,
Have split the frozen skies,
And called the way for weaker wings,
Where midnight lies.
To-day a warm wind wakes the marsh;I hear the hylas peepAnd o’er the pebbly ford, unbound,The waters leap.
To-day a warm wind wakes the marsh;
I hear the hylas peep
And o’er the pebbly ford, unbound,
The waters leap.
The lambs bleat from the sheltered folds;Low whispers spread the hills:The rustle of the spring’s soft robesThe forest fills.
The lambs bleat from the sheltered folds;
Low whispers spread the hills:
The rustle of the spring’s soft robes
The forest fills.
The night, ah me! fierce flies the stormAcross the dark dead wold;The swift snow swirls; and silence fallsOn stream and fold.
The night, ah me! fierce flies the storm
Across the dark dead wold;
The swift snow swirls; and silence falls
On stream and fold.
All white and still lie stream and hill—The winter dread and drear!Then from the skies a bluebird fliesAnd—spring is here!
All white and still lie stream and hill—
The winter dread and drear!
Then from the skies a bluebird flies
And—spring is here!
TO THE TEACHER
“It must be a lovely placein the summer!” the dull and irritating often say to me, referring to my home in the country. What they mean is, of course, “How wretched a place the country is in winter!” But that attitude toward winter grows less and less common. We are learning how to enjoy the winter; and it is my hope that this volume may distinctly contribute to the knowledge that makes for that joy. Behind such joy is love, and behind the love is understanding, and behind the understanding is knowledge.The trouble with those who say they hate winter is a lack of knowledge. They do not know the winter; they never tramp the woods and fields in winter; they have no calendar of the rare, the high-festival days of winter.Such a day is the one of this opening chapter—“Hunting the Snow.” And the winter is full of them; as full as the summer, I had almost said! The possibilities of winter for nature-study, for tramps afield, for outdoor sport—for joy and health and knowledge and poetry are quite as good as those of summer. Try it this winter. Indeed, let the coldest, dullest, deadest day this winter challenge you to discover to yourself and to your pupils some sight, some sound, some happening, or some thought of the world outside that shall add to their small understanding, or touch their ready imaginations, or awaken their eager love for Nature.And do not let the rarer winter days pass (such as the day that follows the first snow-fall) without your taking them or sending them a-hunting the snow, else you will fail in duty as grievously as you would if you allowed a child to finish his public-school education without hearing of Bunker Hill.In reading this first chapter lay emphasis upon: (1) the real excitement possible without a gun in such a hunt; (2) the keener, higherkind of joy in watching a live animal than in killing it; (3) the unfairness of hunting to kill; (4) the rapid extinction of our wild animals, largely caused by guns; (5) the necessity now for protection—for every pupil’s doing all he can to protect wild life everywhere.
“It must be a lovely placein the summer!” the dull and irritating often say to me, referring to my home in the country. What they mean is, of course, “How wretched a place the country is in winter!” But that attitude toward winter grows less and less common. We are learning how to enjoy the winter; and it is my hope that this volume may distinctly contribute to the knowledge that makes for that joy. Behind such joy is love, and behind the love is understanding, and behind the understanding is knowledge.
The trouble with those who say they hate winter is a lack of knowledge. They do not know the winter; they never tramp the woods and fields in winter; they have no calendar of the rare, the high-festival days of winter.
Such a day is the one of this opening chapter—“Hunting the Snow.” And the winter is full of them; as full as the summer, I had almost said! The possibilities of winter for nature-study, for tramps afield, for outdoor sport—for joy and health and knowledge and poetry are quite as good as those of summer. Try it this winter. Indeed, let the coldest, dullest, deadest day this winter challenge you to discover to yourself and to your pupils some sight, some sound, some happening, or some thought of the world outside that shall add to their small understanding, or touch their ready imaginations, or awaken their eager love for Nature.
And do not let the rarer winter days pass (such as the day that follows the first snow-fall) without your taking them or sending them a-hunting the snow, else you will fail in duty as grievously as you would if you allowed a child to finish his public-school education without hearing of Bunker Hill.
In reading this first chapter lay emphasis upon: (1) the real excitement possible without a gun in such a hunt; (2) the keener, higherkind of joy in watching a live animal than in killing it; (3) the unfairness of hunting to kill; (4) the rapid extinction of our wild animals, largely caused by guns; (5) the necessity now for protection—for every pupil’s doing all he can to protect wild life everywhere.
FOR THE PUPIL
Study the drawings of the tracks in this chapter, then go into the woods and try to identify the tracks you find in the snow. Every track you discover and identify will be quarry in your bag—just as truly as though you had killed a deer or a moose or a bear. You can all turn snow-hunters without leaving blood and pain and death and emptiness and silence behind you. And it is just as good and exciting sport.
Study the drawings of the tracks in this chapter, then go into the woods and try to identify the tracks you find in the snow. Every track you discover and identify will be quarry in your bag—just as truly as though you had killed a deer or a moose or a bear. You can all turn snow-hunters without leaving blood and pain and death and emptiness and silence behind you. And it is just as good and exciting sport.
Page 4
cushion-marked holes:Examine a cat’s feet. Make a study of cat tracks: how they are placed; how wide apart; how they look when she walks, when she runs, when she jumps, when she gathers herself together for a spring. You can learn the art of snow-hunting by studying the tracks of the cat in your own dooryards.wood pussy: a polite name in New England for the skunk.
cushion-marked holes:Examine a cat’s feet. Make a study of cat tracks: how they are placed; how wide apart; how they look when she walks, when she runs, when she jumps, when she gathers herself together for a spring. You can learn the art of snow-hunting by studying the tracks of the cat in your own dooryards.
wood pussy: a polite name in New England for the skunk.
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the great northern hare:The northern hare is not often seen here, and I am not sure but that this may be the common brown rabbit.
the great northern hare:The northern hare is not often seen here, and I am not sure but that this may be the common brown rabbit.
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slashings:The name for the waste limbs and tops left after cutting forest trees. Tree wardens should compel the woodchoppers to pile this brush up as they cut and burn it while the snow is on the ground to prevent forest fires in summer.hazelnuts: small brown nuts like the filberts of the stores. They grow on a bush two to six feet high. There are two kinds,—common hazelnut and beaked hazelnut. The green husk looks like a cap, hence its Saxon namehaesle, a cap, and the scientific nameCorylusfrom the Greekcorys, a helmet.
slashings:The name for the waste limbs and tops left after cutting forest trees. Tree wardens should compel the woodchoppers to pile this brush up as they cut and burn it while the snow is on the ground to prevent forest fires in summer.
hazelnuts: small brown nuts like the filberts of the stores. They grow on a bush two to six feet high. There are two kinds,—common hazelnut and beaked hazelnut. The green husk looks like a cap, hence its Saxon namehaesle, a cap, and the scientific nameCorylusfrom the Greekcorys, a helmet.
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Burns:Robert Burns, the Scotch poet.
Burns:Robert Burns, the Scotch poet.
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root and all, and all in all: from a poem by Lord Tennyson called “Flower in the Crannied Wall.”
root and all, and all in all: from a poem by Lord Tennyson called “Flower in the Crannied Wall.”
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Atalanta’s race:Look up the story of the beautiful girl runner who lost her race with her lover because of her desire to pick up a golden apple.
Atalanta’s race:Look up the story of the beautiful girl runner who lost her race with her lover because of her desire to pick up a golden apple.
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Two mighty wings: an owl’s wing marks, perhaps the barred owl or the great horned owl, or the snowy owl, which sometimes comes down from the north in the winter.
Two mighty wings: an owl’s wing marks, perhaps the barred owl or the great horned owl, or the snowy owl, which sometimes comes down from the north in the winter.
TO THE TEACHER
This herding and driving of turkeys to market is common in other sections of the country, particularly in Kentucky. I have told the story (as told to me by one who saw the flock) in order to bring out the force of instinct and habit, and the unreasoning nature of the animal mind as compared with man’s.
This herding and driving of turkeys to market is common in other sections of the country, particularly in Kentucky. I have told the story (as told to me by one who saw the flock) in order to bring out the force of instinct and habit, and the unreasoning nature of the animal mind as compared with man’s.
FOR THE PUPIL
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Shepherd-dog:Only a well-trained dog would do, for turkeys are very timid and greatly afraid of a strange dog.
Shepherd-dog:Only a well-trained dog would do, for turkeys are very timid and greatly afraid of a strange dog.
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Black Creek: a local name; not in the Geography.
Black Creek: a local name; not in the Geography.
Page 26
a chorus of answering gobbles:Turkeys will follow their leader. It was this habit or trait that the boys now made use of.
a chorus of answering gobbles:Turkeys will follow their leader. It was this habit or trait that the boys now made use of.
TO THE TEACHER
There is a three-pronged point to this chapter: (1) the empty birds’ nests are not things to mourn over. The birds are safe and warm down south; and they will build fresh, clean nests when they get back. Teach your children to see things as they are—the wholesomeness, naturalness, wisdom, and poetry of Nature’s arrangement. The poets are often sentimental; and most sentimentality is entirelymisplaced. (2) The nest abandoned by the bird may be taken up by the mouse. The deadest, commonest of things may prove full of life and interest upon close observation. Summer may go; but winter comes and brings its own interests and rewards. So does youth go and old age come. There is nothing really abandoned in nature—nothing utterly lacking interest. (3) A mouse is not a Bengal tiger; but he is a whole mouse and in thecompletenessof his life just as large and interesting as the tiger. If the small, the common, the things right at hand, are not interesting, it is not their fault—not the mouse’s fault—butours.
There is a three-pronged point to this chapter: (1) the empty birds’ nests are not things to mourn over. The birds are safe and warm down south; and they will build fresh, clean nests when they get back. Teach your children to see things as they are—the wholesomeness, naturalness, wisdom, and poetry of Nature’s arrangement. The poets are often sentimental; and most sentimentality is entirelymisplaced. (2) The nest abandoned by the bird may be taken up by the mouse. The deadest, commonest of things may prove full of life and interest upon close observation. Summer may go; but winter comes and brings its own interests and rewards. So does youth go and old age come. There is nothing really abandoned in nature—nothing utterly lacking interest. (3) A mouse is not a Bengal tiger; but he is a whole mouse and in thecompletenessof his life just as large and interesting as the tiger. If the small, the common, the things right at hand, are not interesting, it is not their fault—not the mouse’s fault—butours.
FOR THE PUPIL
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white-foot: the deer, or wood mouse (Peromyscus leucopus).
white-foot: the deer, or wood mouse (Peromyscus leucopus).
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“There are no birds in last year’s nest”: a line from a poem by Longfellow called “It is not always May.”
“There are no birds in last year’s nest”: a line from a poem by Longfellow called “It is not always May.”
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Darwin’s book on earthworms:Read in this book how the worms make garden soil.
Darwin’s book on earthworms:Read in this book how the worms make garden soil.
TO THE TEACHER
If you have at hand “The Fall of the Year,” read again the suggestions on page 112 for the chapter on “Things to See this Fall,” making use of this chapter as you did of that (1) as the object of a field excursion—or of several excursions until all the things suggested here have been seen; (2) as a test of the pupil’s actual study of nature; for there is scarcely a city child who cannot get far enough into nature (though he get no farther than the city park), and often enough to see most of the things pointed out in this chapter; (3) as suggestions for further study and observation by the pupils—things that they have seen which might be added to these ten here, and written about for composition work in English.
If you have at hand “The Fall of the Year,” read again the suggestions on page 112 for the chapter on “Things to See this Fall,” making use of this chapter as you did of that (1) as the object of a field excursion—or of several excursions until all the things suggested here have been seen; (2) as a test of the pupil’s actual study of nature; for there is scarcely a city child who cannot get far enough into nature (though he get no farther than the city park), and often enough to see most of the things pointed out in this chapter; (3) as suggestions for further study and observation by the pupils—things that they have seen which might be added to these ten here, and written about for composition work in English.
FOR THE PUPIL
Here are ten different things for you to see this winter, and most of them, whether you live in the city or country, you can see, providedyou live where the snow falls. But you will have some kind of a winter no matter where you live. Don’t miss it—its storms, its birds, its animals, its coasting, skating, snowshoeing, its invitations to tramp the frozen marshes and deep swamps where you cannot go in the summer, and where, on the snow you will catch many a glimpse of wild life that the rank summer sedges will never reveal. Don’t stop with these ten suggestions; there are a hundred other interesting things to see. And as you see them, write about them.
Here are ten different things for you to see this winter, and most of them, whether you live in the city or country, you can see, providedyou live where the snow falls. But you will have some kind of a winter no matter where you live. Don’t miss it—its storms, its birds, its animals, its coasting, skating, snowshoeing, its invitations to tramp the frozen marshes and deep swamps where you cannot go in the summer, and where, on the snow you will catch many a glimpse of wild life that the rank summer sedges will never reveal. Don’t stop with these ten suggestions; there are a hundred other interesting things to see. And as you see them, write about them.
TO THE TEACHER
Let this chapter be read very close to the Christmas recess, when your children’s minds are full of Christmas thoughts. This unconventional turn to the woods, this thought of Christmas among the animals and birds, might easily be the means of awakening many to an understanding of the deeper, spiritual side of nature-study—that we find in Nature only what we take to her; that we get back only what we give. It will be easy for them to take the spirit of Christmas into the woods because they are so full of it; and so it will be easy for them to feel the woods giving it back to them—the very last and best reward of nature-study. No, don’t be afraid that they are incapable of such lessons, of such thoughts and emotions. Some few may be; but no teacher ever yet erred by too much faith in the capacity of her pupils for the higher, deeper things.
Let this chapter be read very close to the Christmas recess, when your children’s minds are full of Christmas thoughts. This unconventional turn to the woods, this thought of Christmas among the animals and birds, might easily be the means of awakening many to an understanding of the deeper, spiritual side of nature-study—that we find in Nature only what we take to her; that we get back only what we give. It will be easy for them to take the spirit of Christmas into the woods because they are so full of it; and so it will be easy for them to feel the woods giving it back to them—the very last and best reward of nature-study. No, don’t be afraid that they are incapable of such lessons, of such thoughts and emotions. Some few may be; but no teacher ever yet erred by too much faith in the capacity of her pupils for the higher, deeper things.
FOR THE PUPIL
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These lines of poetry you all know. But who can tell who wrote them? Where did he live and when?gum swamp:See description of such a swamp on pages 262-263 of the author’s “Wild Life Near Home.” This is the tree known as sour gum, more properly tupelo (Nyssa sylvaticaoruniflora).cardinal grosbeak:Commonly called “cardinal,” or “redbird.”
These lines of poetry you all know. But who can tell who wrote them? Where did he live and when?
gum swamp:See description of such a swamp on pages 262-263 of the author’s “Wild Life Near Home.” This is the tree known as sour gum, more properly tupelo (Nyssa sylvaticaoruniflora).
cardinal grosbeak:Commonly called “cardinal,” or “redbird.”
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Holy Day:What was the oldest form of our word “holiday”?ilex:Ilex verticillata, the black alder, or winterberry, one of the holly family. A low swamp bush covered with red berries all winter.
Holy Day:What was the oldest form of our word “holiday”?
ilex:Ilex verticillata, the black alder, or winterberry, one of the holly family. A low swamp bush covered with red berries all winter.
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Lupton’s Pond:A little pond along Cohansey Creek near Bridgeton, N. J.Persimmon trees: found from New Haven, Conn., to Florida.
Lupton’s Pond:A little pond along Cohansey Creek near Bridgeton, N. J.
Persimmon trees: found from New Haven, Conn., to Florida.
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Bob Cratchit’s goose:There never was such a goose, as you all know who have read Dickens’s “Christmas Carol.”
Bob Cratchit’s goose:There never was such a goose, as you all know who have read Dickens’s “Christmas Carol.”
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liquid amber:The balsamic juice of the sweet gum tree, sometimes called “bilsted” (Liquidambar styraciflua), a large, beautiful swamp tree found from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas.
liquid amber:The balsamic juice of the sweet gum tree, sometimes called “bilsted” (Liquidambar styraciflua), a large, beautiful swamp tree found from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas.
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half-human tracks:Because the coon is a relative of the bears and has a long hind foot that leaves a track much like that of a small baby.
half-human tracks:Because the coon is a relative of the bears and has a long hind foot that leaves a track much like that of a small baby.
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tupelo:See note ongum swamp, page 141.sour gums: same as tupelo.
tupelo:See note ongum swamp, page 141.
sour gums: same as tupelo.
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chicken or frost grapes:Vitis cordifolia: the smallest, sourest, best (boy standards) of all our wild grapes. They ripenafterthe frost and feed the boys and birds when all other such fruits have gone from the woods.Smooth winterberry: is really another ilex,Ilex lævigata, a larger bush thanIlex verticillata, the black alder or winterberry.
chicken or frost grapes:Vitis cordifolia: the smallest, sourest, best (boy standards) of all our wild grapes. They ripenafterthe frost and feed the boys and birds when all other such fruits have gone from the woods.
Smooth winterberry: is really another ilex,Ilex lævigata, a larger bush thanIlex verticillata, the black alder or winterberry.
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Fox sparrows:See the frontispiece. The largest, most beautiful of our sparrows. Nests in the Far North. A migrant to New England and the Southern States.
Fox sparrows:See the frontispiece. The largest, most beautiful of our sparrows. Nests in the Far North. A migrant to New England and the Southern States.
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The crows were winging over toward their great roost:Don’t fail this winter to spend, if not Christmas Day, then one of your Christmas vacation days, in the woods, from morning until the crows go over to their roost. You will never forget that day.
The crows were winging over toward their great roost:Don’t fail this winter to spend, if not Christmas Day, then one of your Christmas vacation days, in the woods, from morning until the crows go over to their roost. You will never forget that day.
TO THE TEACHER
Read to the pupils Emerson’s poem “The Titmouse,” dwelling on the lines,—“Here was this atom in full breath,Hurling defiance at vast death,” etc.and the part beginning,—“’Tis good will makes intelligence,”letting the students learn by heart the chickadee’s little song,—“Live out of doorsIn the great woods, on prairie floors,” etc.Poem and chapter ought mutually to help each other. Read the chapter slowly, explaining clearly as you go on, making it finally plain that this mere “atom” of life is greater than all the winter death, no matter how “vast.”
Read to the pupils Emerson’s poem “The Titmouse,” dwelling on the lines,—
“Here was this atom in full breath,Hurling defiance at vast death,” etc.
“Here was this atom in full breath,Hurling defiance at vast death,” etc.
“Here was this atom in full breath,
Hurling defiance at vast death,” etc.
and the part beginning,—
“’Tis good will makes intelligence,”
“’Tis good will makes intelligence,”
“’Tis good will makes intelligence,”
letting the students learn by heart the chickadee’s little song,—
“Live out of doorsIn the great woods, on prairie floors,” etc.
“Live out of doorsIn the great woods, on prairie floors,” etc.
“Live out of doors
In the great woods, on prairie floors,” etc.
Poem and chapter ought mutually to help each other. Read the chapter slowly, explaining clearly as you go on, making it finally plain that this mere “atom” of life is greater than all the winter death, no matter how “vast.”
FOR THE PUPIL
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“The Lilac”: My lilac bush with its suet has become a kind of hotel, or inn, or boarding-house, for the chickadees.
“The Lilac”: My lilac bush with its suet has become a kind of hotel, or inn, or boarding-house, for the chickadees.
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Phœ-ee-bee!: more often the spring call than the winter call of Chickadee. It is to be distinguished from the “phœ’be” call of the phœbe, the flycatcher, by its greater softness and purity, and by its very distinctmiddle syllable, as if Chickadee said “Phœ’—ee—bee.” Phœbe’s note is two-syllabled.
Phœ-ee-bee!: more often the spring call than the winter call of Chickadee. It is to be distinguished from the “phœ’be” call of the phœbe, the flycatcher, by its greater softness and purity, and by its very distinctmiddle syllable, as if Chickadee said “Phœ’—ee—bee.” Phœbe’s note is two-syllabled.
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protective coloration: a favorite term with Darwin and many later naturalists to describe the wonderful harmony in the colors of animals, insects, etc., and their natural surroundings, the animal’s color blending so perfectly into the color of its surroundings as to be a protection to the creature.
protective coloration: a favorite term with Darwin and many later naturalists to describe the wonderful harmony in the colors of animals, insects, etc., and their natural surroundings, the animal’s color blending so perfectly into the color of its surroundings as to be a protection to the creature.
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card house: as if made of cards, easily pushed, even blown down.
card house: as if made of cards, easily pushed, even blown down.
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the workman’s chips:Look on the ground under a newly excavated woodpecker’s hole, and you will find his “chips.”
the workman’s chips:Look on the ground under a newly excavated woodpecker’s hole, and you will find his “chips.”
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a tiny window:The tough birch-bark would bend readily. I would shut the window in leaving by means of a long, sharp thorn.
a tiny window:The tough birch-bark would bend readily. I would shut the window in leaving by means of a long, sharp thorn.
TO THE TEACHER
Make a point of going into the winter woods and fields, taking the pupils as often as possible with you. It may be impossible for your city children to get the rare chance of glare ice; but don’t miss it if it comes.This is the time to start your bird-study; to awaken sympathy and responsibility in your pupils by teaching them to feed the birds; to cultivate cheerfulness and the love of “hardness” in them by breasting with them a bitter winter gale for the pure joy of it. Use the suggestions here for whatever of resourcefulness and hardiness you can cultivate in the girls as well as in the boys.
Make a point of going into the winter woods and fields, taking the pupils as often as possible with you. It may be impossible for your city children to get the rare chance of glare ice; but don’t miss it if it comes.
This is the time to start your bird-study; to awaken sympathy and responsibility in your pupils by teaching them to feed the birds; to cultivate cheerfulness and the love of “hardness” in them by breasting with them a bitter winter gale for the pure joy of it. Use the suggestions here for whatever of resourcefulness and hardiness you can cultivate in the girls as well as in the boys.
FOR THE PUPIL
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the good things to read:To name only a few of them, we might mention John Burroughs’s “Winter Sunshine” and “Squirrels and Other Fur-Bearers,” Bradford Torrey’s “Footing it in Franconia,” Frank Bolles’s “At the North of Bearcamp Water,” William Hamilton Gibson’s “Eye Spy,” William L. Finley’s “American Birds,” and Edward Breck’s “Wilderness Pets.”
the good things to read:To name only a few of them, we might mention John Burroughs’s “Winter Sunshine” and “Squirrels and Other Fur-Bearers,” Bradford Torrey’s “Footing it in Franconia,” Frank Bolles’s “At the North of Bearcamp Water,” William Hamilton Gibson’s “Eye Spy,” William L. Finley’s “American Birds,” and Edward Breck’s “Wilderness Pets.”
TO THE TEACHER
I believe this to be one of the most important chapters in the volume, dark and terrible as its lesson may appear. But grim, dark death itself is not so dark as fear of the truth. If you teach nothing else, by precept and example, teach love for the truth—for the whole truth in nature as everywhere else. Winter is a fact; let us face it. Death is a fact; let us face it; and by facing it half of its terror will disappear; nay more, for something of its deep reasonableness and meaningwill begin to appear, and we shall be no more afraid. Theallof this is beyond a child, as it is beyond us; but the habit of looking honestly and fearlessly at things must be part of a child’s education, as later on it must be the very sum of it.Great tact and fine feeling must be exercised if you happen to have among the scholars one of the handicapped—one lacking any part, as the muskrat lacked—lest the application be taken personally. But let the lesson be driven home: the need every boy and girl has for a strong, full-membered body,—even for every one of his teeth,—if he is to live at his physical best.
I believe this to be one of the most important chapters in the volume, dark and terrible as its lesson may appear. But grim, dark death itself is not so dark as fear of the truth. If you teach nothing else, by precept and example, teach love for the truth—for the whole truth in nature as everywhere else. Winter is a fact; let us face it. Death is a fact; let us face it; and by facing it half of its terror will disappear; nay more, for something of its deep reasonableness and meaningwill begin to appear, and we shall be no more afraid. Theallof this is beyond a child, as it is beyond us; but the habit of looking honestly and fearlessly at things must be part of a child’s education, as later on it must be the very sum of it.
Great tact and fine feeling must be exercised if you happen to have among the scholars one of the handicapped—one lacking any part, as the muskrat lacked—lest the application be taken personally. But let the lesson be driven home: the need every boy and girl has for a strong, full-membered body,—even for every one of his teeth,—if he is to live at his physical best.
FOR THE PUPIL
Page 83
incisor teeth: the four long front teeth of the rodents,—rats, mice, beavers, etc. These incisor teeth, are heavily enameled with a sharp cutting edge and keep growing continuously.
incisor teeth: the four long front teeth of the rodents,—rats, mice, beavers, etc. These incisor teeth, are heavily enameled with a sharp cutting edge and keep growing continuously.
Page 85
voles: meadow mice.
voles: meadow mice.
Page 86
chimney swallows: more properlyswifts; as these birds do not belong to the swallow family at all.vermin: The swifts are generally infested with vermin.
chimney swallows: more properlyswifts; as these birds do not belong to the swallow family at all.
vermin: The swifts are generally infested with vermin.
Page 91
clapper rails: or marsh-hens (Rallus crepitans).
clapper rails: or marsh-hens (Rallus crepitans).
Page 92
“List’ning the doors an’ winnocks rattle”: lines from Burns’s “A Winter Night.”
“List’ning the doors an’ winnocks rattle”: lines from Burns’s “A Winter Night.”
TO THE TEACHER
Make this chapter, as far as you can, the one in the volume for most intensive study. Show the pupils how the study of animal life is connected with geology, tell them of the record of life in the fossils of the rocks, the kinds of strange beasts that once inhabited the earth. Show them again how the study of animals in their anatomy is not the study of one—say of man, but how man and all the mammals, the reptiles, the birds, the fishes, the insects, on and on back to thesingle-celled amœba, are all related to each other, all links in one long wonder chain of life.
Make this chapter, as far as you can, the one in the volume for most intensive study. Show the pupils how the study of animal life is connected with geology, tell them of the record of life in the fossils of the rocks, the kinds of strange beasts that once inhabited the earth. Show them again how the study of animals in their anatomy is not the study of one—say of man, but how man and all the mammals, the reptiles, the birds, the fishes, the insects, on and on back to thesingle-celled amœba, are all related to each other, all links in one long wonder chain of life.
FOR THE PUPIL
Page 94
Charles Lamb:Look up his life in the Encyclopedia. Read for yourselves his essay on Roast Pig.modus edibilis: the Latin for “manner of eating.”
Charles Lamb:Look up his life in the Encyclopedia. Read for yourselves his essay on Roast Pig.
modus edibilis: the Latin for “manner of eating.”
Page 95
the ’possum’s relations:They are the marsupials, the pouched animals, like the kangaroo.
the ’possum’s relations:They are the marsupials, the pouched animals, like the kangaroo.
Page 98
reptilian age: one of the great geological ages or eras, known to the geologists as the great mesozoic or “middle” epoch, when reptiles ruled the land and sea.
reptilian age: one of the great geological ages or eras, known to the geologists as the great mesozoic or “middle” epoch, when reptiles ruled the land and sea.
Page 103
smiles at you—grins:Read the account of this habit in the opening chapter of the author’s “Wild Life Near Home.”
smiles at you—grins:Read the account of this habit in the opening chapter of the author’s “Wild Life Near Home.”
TO THE TEACHER
This chapter and the next go together—this for the lover of wild life, the next for the lover of adventure. The spring freshet is one of the most interesting of the year of days for animal study—better even than the day after the first snowfall. But more than this, let both chapters suggest to you how primitive and elemental the real world is after all; with what cataclysmal forces the seasons are changed. As summer often passes into autumn with a silencing frost that rests like a hush of awe over the land; so winter often gives way to spring with a rush of wind and tidal powers that seem to shake the foundations of the world. To feel these forces, to be a part of all these moods, to share in all these feelings—this, too, is one of the ends of nature-study.
This chapter and the next go together—this for the lover of wild life, the next for the lover of adventure. The spring freshet is one of the most interesting of the year of days for animal study—better even than the day after the first snowfall. But more than this, let both chapters suggest to you how primitive and elemental the real world is after all; with what cataclysmal forces the seasons are changed. As summer often passes into autumn with a silencing frost that rests like a hush of awe over the land; so winter often gives way to spring with a rush of wind and tidal powers that seem to shake the foundations of the world. To feel these forces, to be a part of all these moods, to share in all these feelings—this, too, is one of the ends of nature-study.
TO THE TEACHER
I should like to repeat here the suggestions in “The Fall of the Year” for this corresponding chapter. I will repeat only: “thatyouare the teacher, not the book. The book is but a suggestion. You begin where it leaves off; you fill out where it is lacking.” For these are not all the sounds of winter; indeed they may not be the characteristic sounds in your neighborhood. No matter: the lesson is not this or that sound, but that your pupilslearn to listenfor sounds, for the voices of the season, whatever those voices may be in their own particular region. The trouble is that we have ears, and literally hear not, eyes and see not, souls and feel not. Teach your pupils to use their eyes, ears, yes andhearts, and all things else will be added unto them in the way of education.
I should like to repeat here the suggestions in “The Fall of the Year” for this corresponding chapter. I will repeat only: “thatyouare the teacher, not the book. The book is but a suggestion. You begin where it leaves off; you fill out where it is lacking.” For these are not all the sounds of winter; indeed they may not be the characteristic sounds in your neighborhood. No matter: the lesson is not this or that sound, but that your pupilslearn to listenfor sounds, for the voices of the season, whatever those voices may be in their own particular region. The trouble is that we have ears, and literally hear not, eyes and see not, souls and feel not. Teach your pupils to use their eyes, ears, yes andhearts, and all things else will be added unto them in the way of education.
FOR THE PUPIL
IIt is the stilling of the insects that makes for the first of these silences; the hushing of the winds the second; the magic touch of the cold the third.IIThe voice of the great spring storm should be added to these, and the shriek of the wind about the house.IIIYou should not onlyhear, but you should alsofeelthis split—passing with a thrilling shock beneath your feet.VHow many other of thesmallvoices do you know? The chirp of the kinglets; the scratching of mice in a shock of corn; the—— but you write a story about them. So listen for yourself.VIDo all you can to preserve the quail. Don’t shoot.VIIIAlong toward spring you should hear him “drumming” for a mate—a rapid motion of his wings much like the hollow sound of a distant drum.
It is the stilling of the insects that makes for the first of these silences; the hushing of the winds the second; the magic touch of the cold the third.
The voice of the great spring storm should be added to these, and the shriek of the wind about the house.
You should not onlyhear, but you should alsofeelthis split—passing with a thrilling shock beneath your feet.
How many other of thesmallvoices do you know? The chirp of the kinglets; the scratching of mice in a shock of corn; the—— but you write a story about them. So listen for yourself.
Do all you can to preserve the quail. Don’t shoot.
Along toward spring you should hear him “drumming” for a mate—a rapid motion of his wings much like the hollow sound of a distant drum.
TO THE TEACHER
Do all that you can to teach the signs of the zodiac, the days of the seasons, and all the doings of the astronomical year. All that old lore of the skies is in danger of being lost. Some readers will say: “The author is not consistent! He loves the winter and here he is impatient to be done with it!” Some explanation on your part may be necessary: that the call of the spring is the call of life, a call so loud and strong that all life—human and wild, animal and vegetable,—hears it and is impatient to obey. If possible take your scholars upon a walk at this raw edge of the season when they will feel the chill but also the stirring of life all about them.
Do all that you can to teach the signs of the zodiac, the days of the seasons, and all the doings of the astronomical year. All that old lore of the skies is in danger of being lost. Some readers will say: “The author is not consistent! He loves the winter and here he is impatient to be done with it!” Some explanation on your part may be necessary: that the call of the spring is the call of life, a call so loud and strong that all life—human and wild, animal and vegetable,—hears it and is impatient to obey. If possible take your scholars upon a walk at this raw edge of the season when they will feel the chill but also the stirring of life all about them.
FOR THE PUPIL
Get an almanac and study the old weather signs.
Get an almanac and study the old weather signs.
Page 130
“When descends on the Atlantic”: from Longfellow’s “Seaweed.”
“When descends on the Atlantic”: from Longfellow’s “Seaweed.”
Page 133
frog or hyla: The hylas belong to the familyHylidæand include our tree-toad, and our little tree-frog.“For, lo, the winter is past,”: from The Song of Songs, or The Song of Solomon, in the Bible.
frog or hyla: The hylas belong to the familyHylidæand include our tree-toad, and our little tree-frog.
“For, lo, the winter is past,”: from The Song of Songs, or The Song of Solomon, in the Bible.
The Riverside PressCAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTSU . S . A