Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-08-16
OBSERVING NATURE.
a Simple Art Acquired by Paying
Attention.
a Quick Open Sense and a Lively Curios
ity Necessary-HOw One May
Train Himself In the
Habit.

I am often asked to tell people how
see so much in the lives of birds and
animals, or in the face of nature about
me. Though it is the simplest of arts,
yet suppose it is an art that can not
well be communicated.
1t is simply matter of>attention.
You must pay attention to what is
going on.
1t is not like the play at the theater
where every thing is made conspicuous
and aims to catch the eye and where
the story clearly and fully unfolds itself.
On natures stage many dramas are
being played at once, and without any
reference to the lookers-on, unless it
be to escape their notice. The actors
rush or strut across the stage, the
curtain rises or falls, the significant
thing happens, and we heed it not be-
cause our wits are dull or else our
minds are preoccupied. We do not
pay strict attention. Nature will not
come to you; you must go to her; that
is, you must put yourself in commune
cation with her; you must open the
correspondence; you must train your
eye to pick out the significant things.
A quick open sense, and a lively curl
Osity like that of a boy are necessary.
Indeed the constituencies and alertness
of youth and the care and patience of
later years are what makes the sue
cessful observer.
The other morning my little boy and
set out to find the horse who had got
out the pasture and gone off. Had he
gone up the road or down? We did
not know, but we imagined we could
distinguish his track going down the
road, so we began our search in that
direction. The road presently led
through piece of woods. Suddenly
my little boy stopped me.
Papa, see that spiders web
stretched across the road; our horse
has not gone this way"
My face had nearly touched the web
or cable of the little spider which
stretched completely across the road,
and which certainly would have been
swept away had the horse or any
other creature passed along there in
the early morning. The boys eye was
sharper than my own. He had been
paying stricter attention to the signs
and objects about him. We turned
back and soon found the horse in the
opposite direction.
This same little boy, by observing
closely, has discovered that there are
certain stingless wasps. When he secs
one which bears the marks he boldly
catches him in his hand. The wasp
goes through the motions of singing
so perfectly, so works and thrusts with
its flexible body, that nearly every
hand to which it is offered draws back.
The mark by which the boy is guided
IS the light color Of the wasp's face.
Most country boys know that white
faced bumble-bees are stingless, but l
have not before known boy bold
enough to follow the principle out and
apply it to wasps as we'll. These
white faces are the males. and answer
to the 'drones in the bee hive; though
the drones have not white face.
When Flock closely or listen atten-
lively just as this time September 2O)
/ discover that the vanguard of the
Northern birds is already here; the
, white-throated sparrows have come.
How private and cheerful they are in
the, bushes and about the tangle of
grape vines! They do not appear like
emigrants, but as if quite at home.
Till few days ago they were in Maine
and Canada, where many of them
probably. still linger: in few weeks
more they will be in Virginia, and the
Carolinas, but they are in no hurry,
p ond ,Sea,,o intent on eniovino the conn
try and the fine weather as they pass.
4. 1t is an easy task for the eye to dis
tinguish them from our home spar
rows, the song-sparrow or the ugly
English sparrow. They are the size
of the latter, of darker clearer gray
above, with an ash-colored breast. and
a white patch on the throat Two
white lines near the crown are also
often easily seen. The song is sweet,
tremulous whistle, and brief snatches
of it may be heard as they linger here