THE SANDPIPER A. A. ALLEN "Sweet, sweet, sweet," says the sandpiper as he balances himself on a rock and tilts backwards and forwards on his stilt-like legs. “Sweet, sweet, sweet," he calls as he flies up the creeks or runs through the shallow water, probing here and there with his long bill for hidden insects. The boys call him a "Tip-up" or a "Teeter-tail," because he does not seem to be able to stand still as most birds do but continually tilts his tail as though it were difficult to keep his balance. There are many kinds of sandpipers along shores and mud flats during spring and fall when they are migrating, but only the spotted sandpiper, or "Tip-up," stays with us during the summer. No stream is complete without him. Sometimes his gray back and spotted white breast so blend with the gravel of the creek bed that we do not see him as we pass; but he is there, as much a part of the landscape as the bridge and the willow, balancing himself quaintly on a bowlder and bobbing and bowing to us. Let us walk up the creek in June and find the four brown eggs spotted with black that are hidden away in a tussock near the water. We almost step on the brave bird before she flutters from the nest, feigning a broken wing, and trailing over the ground just out of reach until she has enticed us from the nest. Then she flies off up the creek, showing us that we have been deceived. If we stop, however, when she flutters from beneath our feet, and search about in the grass we may find the eggs. We shall marvel at their size when the mother bird is so small. We shall notice how the smaller ends of the eggs all point toward the center of the nest, making it more comfortable for the mother bird during the long hours. The eggs are very dark and opaque and we know that they will soon hatch, so we plan to come back again in a few days. When we arrive the nest is empty, for young sandpipers are not blind and helpless when they are hatched as are many birds, but like chickens they are covered with down and are able to run and hide. A careful search reveals them, however, hiding under leaves and sticks little gray fellows with long wobbly legs and none of the grace of their parents. They lie perfectly still when we find them and look more like leaves or stones than like live birds. It is only when we are not watching that they get up and run. In fall the sandpipers travel thousands of miles to South America where they spend the winter, but in spring they come back once more. Very frequently the same bird spends year after year along the same stream. TREES This year the trees given for study in New York State are as follows: elm, spruce, pine, juniper, walnut, dogwood, maple, sumac, oak, fir, tulip tree, two kinds of fruit trees, and one conifer. Boys and girls will have many opportunities to become familiar with some of these. We should all try to know the trees that grow about us whether in garden, woodlot, or forest. This study will be of interest through all our lives, in all lands. When we consider that small seeds may be sown from which tall trees will grow, we feel like doing our part so as to add beauty and interest to the world by planting a tree and caring for it until it has opportunity for a long and useful life. We often appreciate out-of-door things better when we know something about them and can daily add some new interest to this knowledge. It is well, therefore, to consider the trees for study this year, and to gain some information on which further study and observation may be based. We ought to know in what climate and soil each tree will best develop, whether it has slow or rapid growth, how high it will grow, at what time it blossoms, the kind of bark and leaves it has, and the ways in which the wood or fruit may be used. It will interest some of the older boys and girls to prepare an outline for tree study as given on page 1216 and to obtain information from the teachers' leaflet for September, or from a good book on trees, such as Our Native Trees," by Harriet Keeler, published by Scribner & Sons, 66 of New York, at two dollars. Nature study is the study of nature, not the study of books, but from the works of naturalists we can often obtain information that will help us in out-of-door study. 5. Leaves leaves Alternate Four to six inches long In autumn turn brown or golden yellow 6. Uses Hubs of wheels Saddle trees Some day when your teacher goes with you on a field trip, take your leaflets with you. As you come to any of the trees mentioned in it, discuss the facts of interest that you know about them. Mabel might tell the color of the bark; John the height of the tree as nearly as he can calculate it; Tom the time that it blossoms; Mary its uses; Margaret its length of life; Peter its value as a shade tree; and Harry will doubtless think of some point of interest that no one has mentioned. This will be the best kind of a lesson. "In the urgent solitudes Lies the spur to larger moods; ETHELWYN WETHERALD In many places boys and girls are interested in school gardens and home gardens. On page 1221 you will find suggestions for home gardens. Here, we shall say something about school gardens. Throughout the United States there are hundreds of school gardens in which teachers and boys and girls all work together in order to make a piece of ground produce something worth while. We wish you could see how eager some schools in large cities are to obtain a little plat of ground. |