Part 32

How often you read of, or heard some one speak of, the whale as "the largest of fish." A whale is a mammal, because it suckles its young. It is not only the largest of living mammals, but, according to Mr. Lucas, the large ones are larger than any of the enormous reptiles that inhabited the world before the advent of man, and whose fossil remains may be seen in any of our large museums.

Notes

December Sixteenth

The quiet little tree sparrows spend the winter with us feeding on the seeds of weeds and grasses. You will find their tracks in the snow where flocks have been eating ragweed seeds, and you are likely to see some of them fluttering about in the bushes along the river banks, or in the frozen swamps uttering a pleasing call note. They can be identified by the distinct black spot on the breast and their pinkish bills.

December Seventeenth

There is no better time to study the tracks and nightly doings of animals than after the first fall of snow. Start early in the morning and see how many stories the tracks have written.

December Eighteenth

Following the tracks of a white-footed mouse in the woods, they lead you to a hollow log, at the entrance of which are a number of beech-nut shells, remains of a midnight feast taken from a winter store-house. From here the mouse went into the field, and then the tracks stop abruptly, leaving you to guess the rest. Possibly one of the several species of owls that inhabit your locality could explain the sudden ending of the trail.

Notes

December Nineteenth

Continuing through the woods, you soon discover the trail of two birds whose feet are not quite the size of those of bantam chickens. Following them a few hundred yards you come to a bedded spot in the snow, beneath the drooping branches of a spruce. Not far from here, two ruffed grouse rise, with a loud whirr of wings, and speed off before your startled eyes. These are the birds whose tracks you have been following.

December Twentieth

Don't follow a fox track with the intention of overtaking the maker, unless you have dogs. He may be ten miles away at that very moment, and even if you should draw near to him, he is almost certain to elude your sight by sneaking away.

December Twenty-first

You may find where a muskrat has left the stream and started across the meadow to a marsh near by. Suddenly a mink's track breaks into the trail and follows in the same direction, and you soon come to a spot where the snow is much disturbed, and the tracks mingle in confusion. Blood-stains on the snow and matted places show where the two have fought a battle for existence. A broad, deep trail leading to a stump indicates that some object has been dragged across the snow, and there you find the half-eaten remains of the muskrat.

Notes

December Twenty-second

What tracks are these, trailing along the fence between a brush-lot and a buckwheat field? At the corner of the fence human footprints and those of a dog join them. All now travel in the same direction, first on one side of the fence, then on the other. Finally the bird tracks stop abruptly and the marks of wings on each side of them show that the birds have taken flight. The dog has suddenly bolted, and where his tracks turn back is a dash in the snow and a few quail feathers which tell the story; a hunter has bagged his game.

December Twenty-third

An open brush-lot bordering woods is the best place to find cotton-tail rabbit tracks. Judging from the number of tracks and the spaces between them, the rabbits have been playing tag, or attempting to break the record for running and jumping. They did rest, however, for beneath a bush, and by the side of a stump, we find impressions in the snow where they sat down. If it is a warm day, you are apt to surprise one taking a sun-bath.

December Twenty-fourth

Save in the dome of the Capitol, could our national bird, the bald eagle, select a more appropriate place for its nest than at Washington's home? In a patch of heavy timber at Mt. Vernon, Va., a pair of eagles have nested for several years.

COTTONTAIL RABBIT TAKING A SUNBATH.]

Notes

December Twenty-fifth

Mistletoe is a parasitic evergreen shrub that is abundant in the South. It grows in thick clusters on limbs of various species of trees. Its flowers are whitish, and after the flowering season, clusters of white berries take the place of the blossoms. As the berries are ready to fall, they become soft and sticky, and when they drop they adhere to the bark of any limb they strike, and the seeds take root and are nourished by the sap of the tree.

December Twenty-sixth

You might take a Christmas walk over the ice and visit a muskrat's house of sticks and other rubbish. If the occupants are at home, you will notice a frosty spot on one side of the mound. A muskrat hunter would thrust his spear through the thin wall and impale one or more of the rats upon its tines. Many of the clods composing the house bear the nose-print of the maker.