Putnam patriot., 1915-05-07
Or d Member of Apo Corn Club
Bg/ ASA PATRICK



hamlaeriue Justify ON a dead tree. he
stopped ana pointed with his finger.
"Bet I could knock I'm of with a rife
from here bt. sud
Don't ever do It." cautioned sam.
Hes another friend
What" ex~aimed Bill ~ wood
pecker kills trees
No. he doesn't" said sam. HE saves
trees woodpeeker never bOres hole
III tree for fun He's after worms or
making himself a home, and he makes
his home ID dead trees When be
bores into a green tree he's after
worm every time. aud be always gets
him The hole the bird makes will
grow up, but If the worm stays it'll
kill the tree. One wOodpecker will go
over 600 trees in a day and examine
them for bugs, egg deposits and worms.
1t doctors the tree inside and out
saw A woodpec ker go over nearly ev-
cry tree in our orchard
We'll. now. | didn't know that" said
Bill. II been KNOWN wondpeckers all
my life, bur never paid no attention
to 'em. Guess won't shoot no more
of EN-"
ITO tell the truth" sam went on,
there are mighty few birds or animals
but what do more good than harm.
believe the common old house cats kill
more birds and chickens than all the
varmints put together | think it's a
good deed TO kill cat whenever yon
find one. There are two kinds of
la wks-the cooper and the sharp shin
ned-that are bad to kill birds aud
chickens. These two hawks look alike.
They are small. The females are a
notified brownSh color. and the males
are a duh blue It's a good thing to
kill them whenever you get a chance.
The other hawks and owls don't do
much harm. and they do lots OF good
because they live mostly ON rats and
mice and such things Once in awhile
an owl will bother chickens. but it's
only when its regular food is scarce
ITS pretty much the same way
about the fox. mink. weasel and skunk.
Once in awhile one of these varmints
will get to be bad after chickens. But
We could hardly do without them be-
cause they keep down the swarms of
field mice, rabbits. grasshoppers crick.
cts, hornets and wasps
"Where'd you ind ont these things p
asked Bill Il know they re true when
1 hear you say EN-. but somehow
never did think of EN- before
I've learned little by reading
Sam told him. but mostly by keeping
my eyes and etIrS open when I'm out
in the woods and fields Sister and
like TO study plants and animals espe-
cially plants. We're going to take
correspondence course in botany next
year III the state university. Florence
says she's going to be florist. and /
want to know all about plants, So
can farm "
During the long afternoon sam and
Bill ished and talked every now and
then throwing ont blue cat OF a Cog
gle eye to add TO their strings that
they kept fastened to the edge OF the
water Ii was cool and shady along
the creek. Birds sang and squirrels
chartered in the branches overhead.
The two farmers enjoyed the quiet
GOODNESS after the hot days in the field.
Late in the afternoon they wound up
their lines and went home, each car
rying a long string of fish. Sam sat
on the doorstep In the gathering dusk
and breat hed the perfume from the
honeysuckle that ciambered over the
yard fence. He saw the stars coming
out, one by one. and the moon creep
ing up behind big oak He heard the
who who" of an owl away of ON
the creek. Then suddenly stars. moon
and owl all vanished He smelled
fried fish and ueard his mother calling
him TO supper.