Evening star., 1947-12-23
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Trdce1Dell

While wildbirds know nothing about
Christmas, still any one can give them taste
of good cheer
Their minds will not understand, but the
warmth of the season will be felt by them as
well as by u.s.
these and other foods, including holly berries
on wreaths, will help them through the festive
season.
No elaborate preparations are necessary.
Pieces Of beef suet may be tied to trees, and
bread moistened with water put on the lawn.
Water in shallow pans in the sun often helps
them when dry winds blow.
All these are easy preparations, to be made
by any one, even little child
Law enforcement officials tell us that the
old and new generations are too far apart;
one way Of helping is to train little ones to be
interested in nature.
Nature is something we all are part Of,
but at times we tend to forget 1t. Especially
city people may regard nature as something
that exists on farms and in the suburbs, but
scarcely raises its head In the precincts Of
brick and concrete.
It is true that storms are not as intense and
cold is usually four degrees at least, less than
in the suburban sections.
1t is the same old nature, however, both
places, and one of the best ways to come into
contact with it Is to feed the birds.
Christmas time. is as good as any to begin.
Many persons this Christmas will begin to
put out food for the birds, and in time, II the
sport interests them, will come to know as
many as 10 different species.
All too many Of them, however, will begin
enthusiastically and In a few weeks permit
the feeding station to remain empty all day.
Often this comes about because 1t is every
bodys business to see that 1t is full.
The best way Is to make this the duty OF
some one person.
Duty is a wonderful thing
It has been branded as "corny" in these
days, but it still has thrill about 1t, and the
idea of duty may be held in the mind by even
SO basicaly simple thing as feeding the wild
birds in the cold.
One person, especially young one, who is
held responsible for seeing that the birds have
something to eat soon learns, in an easy
fashion, something about duty.
This Is education at its best, without any Of
the old fuddy- -duddy concepts rearing their
ugly heads.
The birds are hungry. They are happy
with food they find. They know nothing of
remain healthy.
It Is easy to explain even to the youngest
child how much more human beings are re-
sponsible for, and how these responsibilities
and duties are what make them higher In the
scale of life than the animals and birds.
These are Christmas thoughts because they
tie In with all that Christmas means once you
get out of the sphere Of price classes.
The birds in the cold are solely flying en-
ergy, without much if any idea Of the reasons
for things
Their dominant idea in the winter is easily
put into words by human watchers:
IT want something to eat"
There Is such a satisfying knShip in this
idea that even the smallest child can under
stand it.
1t also will satisfy the philosopher.
At the same time, when put into action, the
birds in the cold, and the squirrels and others,
understand 1t well enough to come and eat.
Put out bread crumbs, then. II you have
nothing else, and have the satisfaction >of
making one Of the oldest ideas In the world
flower into action, 50 that it is easily under
stood by Ill ages and types Of living things.