["228", "SHOOTING AND FISHING.", "say, can be seen numberless herds of caribou grazing peacefully on the scanty herbage. One experienced trapper, who has been annually working the country for the past twenty years, says: 'Every morning upon a visit to my traps I go through thirty miles of caribou. In the body there are no less than hundreds of thousands. I feel sure that the day is not far distant when they will perish by the thousand through starvation.'", "I was trouting in this very country last year and had good sport with salmon, grilse, and sea trout.", "Newfoundland with its innumerable lakes, rivers, and streams teeming with salmon, grilse, and sea and brook trout, and with its herds of hundreds of thousands of caribou grazing undisturbed in its unsettled interior, will for many years yet be the recreation ground of American sportsmen.", "W. J. CARROLL.", "St. John's, Newfoundland,", "A TRUE RECORD OF A FISHING TRIP.", "PART II.", "WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1902.", "We had a good sleep last night as we were not popular with disturbing elements. Mr. Seymour, R. A. R. A. R. H.", "H. R. A. R. H. R. A. R. H. R. A. R. H.

SOCIETY TO SAVE BISONS.

Organized With President Roosevelt at
Its Head—Its Plans.

The American Bison Society was formed yesterday in the office of William T. Hornaday, director of the Bronx Zoo. President Roosevelt was chosen honorary president, and he sent word from Washington to the effect that he willingly accepted the honor. Mr. Hornaday was selected as president of the society and the other officers named are Dr. Charles S. Minot of Harvard University and A. A. Anderson, president of the Campfire Club of America, vice-presidents; Edmund Seymour, a banker of this city, treasurer, and Ernest Harold Baynes, a naturalist of Meriden, N. H., secretary. An advisory board chosen includes Prof. Franklin W. Hooper of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, Prof. David Starr Jordan of Leland Stanford University, Prof. Morton J. Elrod of the University of Montana, Prof. L. L. Dyche of the University of Kansas, Prof. John J. Gerould of Dartmouth College, William Lyman Underwood of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ernest Thompson-Seton, the animal story writer.

Credit for the organization of the society is due to Ernest Harold Baynes, who two years ago began its organization, and who for many years has been an ardent worker for the preservation of the buffalo. The society will distribute literature on the subject, pointing out the sentimental and practical side of the matter in hope of arousing the public to concerted action in the preservation and increasing of the supply of bisons. At present there are only between six and seven hundred of the animals in the country.

The first big meeting of the society will be held at the White House as soon as President Roosevelt can fix a date. The first move will be to seek Government legislation whereby the bisons shall be scattered in small herds at different points of the country so as to prevent their being carried off by an epidemic. The society also will labor to encourage the breeding of buffaloes and increasing their number.

N.Y. SUM

Dec. 6, 1903

Ernest Harold Baynes, Meriden, N. H.

RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION,
SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 1905.

THE DEPARTURE OF THE SPRITE.

(Last Chapter in the History of a
Red Fox.)

"I'll give you a hundred dollars for that fox."

The speaker was a rather loudly-
dressed individual who sat in a high-
power touring car by the side of a New
Hampshire country road. The remark
was addressed to me, as I lay, leaning
on my elbow, on the shady border of a
spruce forest, and it pertained to my
handsome red fox, "The Sprite,"
which stood just behind me with his
muzzle thrust under my arm, watch-
ing the speaker with an intense look
of suspicion in his yellow eyes. I look
ed down at his fine little face, and
said, with a smile;

"Well, Cootsy, what do you say?
Will you go with him?"

At the sound of my voice, the great,
white-tipped brush waved back and
forth a time or two, but he kept his
eyes riveted on the occupants of the
touring car.

Now, you know "The Sprite." Of
course, everybody knows 'The Sprite"
—the little red fox whom I dug out of
a burrow before his eyes were open,
bought up on min administration with
a medicine dropper, who raided my
good neighbors' hen-roosts; who was
the companion of my walks whenever
I dared to have him loose, and who
more than once appeared with me on
the lecture platform, and tolerated the
caresses he received from the au-
ence afterwards This was the animal
for which I was offered a "cool hun-
dred," which I will admit is a very
good figure for a fox, considering that
the market price is five. Yet, some-
how, I felt no elation, and, laughing, I
said to the would-be purchaser, "I
don't think he wants to go with you;
and, besides, your price is too low."

"Too low? What do you mean?
How much do you want for him?"

Then I tried to explain to this man
that "The Sprite" was my friend;
that he would allow no other man on
earth to lay a hand on him; that if
he were confined in a strange place
no words could picture his utter mis-
ery, and that his brave little heart
would pound itself almost to pieces
until it was stilled for ever. But I was
wasting my time, for this man could
not understand. I might as easily
have convinced his touring car. He
wanted to buy the fox, and, as he had
the money, why should he not do it?
At last I got rather tired of his per-
sistence, and told him plainly that if
he were to sell his last shirt, he
wouldn't have money enough to buy
the tip of the fox's brush. I'm glad you

didn't hear what he said, but I wish
that you could have seen that automo-
bile leap forward and shoot down the
road. It startled "The Sprite" so that
he jumped into the woods and refused
to come out until the buzz of the ma-
chine had died away.

For months I had planned to give
"The Sprite" his liberty. He was so
destructive to poultry that I was
obliged to keep him caged most of the
time, but I thought that if I carried
him some miles away from a dwelling
and turned him loose, he would get a
good living for himself without doing
harm to my neighbors' hens. But it
was awfully hard to make up my mind
to this. Twice I took him out with
the intention of "losing" him, but
when, as I sat on the ground, he would
come up and thrust his wet blackberry
of a nose into my hand or under the
collar of my shirt, I would snap him
up in my arms and carry him home
again, lest by any chance I might lose
him. But at last I made up my mind
I took him miles away, to a point
where game is plentirul and where
hunters are few, and I bade him good
luck and good-by. As I ran my fingers
through his silky brush for the last
time, there sounded from a distant
hill the clear yelp of a fox. "The
Sprite" heard it, and cocked his ears,
and as I gave him a parting slap, he
seemed to pour himself through the
long grass and bushes, and I slipped
away and went home, trying to make

myself believe how glad I was that he
was gone.

Next night but one, I was sitting
alone in my study, when I heard the
pattering of small feet on the piazza
outside, and the next moment there
was a scratching at the door. I jump-
ed to my feet and swung the door wide
open, and there in the lamplight sat
a little red fox. His beautiful brush
waved back and forth, and when I put
out my hand and spoke to him, I
thought he would go crazy with de-
light. He leaped at me with a pathet-
ic little cry—something between a
sob and a whine—but he was smiling
as only a fox can smile. Then the oth-
er members of the household came
trooping in, and the little wanderer
was given a welcome which was
worthy of him. After he had been fed,
he trotted upstairs and went to sleep
on my bed, where we left him, to get
up when he chose. He slept, or, at
any rate, rested for two hours, and
then he came down and scratched at
the door again and we let him out
into the night. One thing I made up
my mind to that night, and that was
that whatever happened I would never
try to get rid of that fox again. So I
notified the neighbors that I would be
responsible for depredations of "The
Sprite," as long as my money held out,
and requested them not to shoot him.
They all agreed, and they stuck to
their bargain, but they never allowed
me to stick to mine, for though "The

Sprite" helped himself whenever he
felt the need of refreshments, never a
bill have I been able to get.

The next morning after his return,
"The Sprite" was around, bright and
early, and he spent almost the entire
day romping with a nine-months-old
prairie wolf, paying no attention what-
ever to the overtures of "Jimmy," the
back bear cub, who was perhaps a
trifle too slow for him. But along in
the afternoon, the fox and the wolf
had a disagreement over something,
and a savage fight was the result. The
wolf was the bigger of the two, and he
had more formidable teeth. But "The
Sprite" had the more confidence and
the greater courage, and he thrashed
his big opponent roundly, cutting his
face, and driving him away on the
run. Next day the fox was chased by
a big dog, and either in accordance
with his own wishes or otherwise, he
was overtaken. I did not see the fight
which followed, but I am told by one
who did that the dog found that he
had "caught a Tartar," got badly bit-
ten for his pains, and was pleased to
call it a "draw." "The Sprite" was
badly bitten too, and that night his
head swelled until I hardly knew him.
But his tail was in the air, and when
I dressed his wounds as he lay on my
bed, he smiled through his swollen
features.

After his fight with the wolf, he
never had anything to do with any of
the other animals about the place. In
fact, soon after this he never came
back to the house except at night,
when he would announce his presence
by scratching at the door. One night,
after an absence of forty-eight hours,
he came in with his nose bristling
with porcupine quills. I expected that
he would object very strenuously to
having them removed, and I wrapped
him carefully in a quilt, in anticipa-
tion of a struggle. But to my sur-
prise a slight suppuration had set in
about each quill, and the barbed
shafts were as easy to withdraw as or-
dinary thorns.

We should have been delighted to
have had "The Sprite" visit us thus,
indefinitely, but it was not to be. The
last time we saw him was on New
Year's Eve. We were toasting "The
Friends That's Awa'," when there
came a patterning of feet, a scratching
on the door, and as some one opened
it, "The Sprite" came in and circled
the table. When he came to my
chair he stopped, looked up in my face
and wagged his tail. I arose and gave
them "The grandest little fox on
Earth," and we drank it standing.
Then, later in the evening, when he
had eaten and slept, he went to the
door as usual, and I opened it and
bade him "Good night." As he crossed
the piazza, he turned once, smiled,
and slowly wagged his tail, and the
next instant he was gone.

Ernest Harold Baynes.

## The Middle West

This year St. Louis celebrates the Louisiana Purchase, a transaction by which the United States came into possession of a large part of its Middle West territory. It is fitting that this event should be commemorated, for this tract, together with the states included in what is known as the Northwest Territory, without doubt forms the most important part of our country. This not only by virtue of what it is, but because of its unusual possibilities for development. This is the great Middle West which will one day "wag the dog." The corn and the wheat of the country are grown here, the hogs and most of the beef. The West also beginning to make its presence felt in manufacturing. They make the agricultural implements with which the world its fields, and not long ago the writer heard of Eastern shoe-dealer say that he could get better and cheaper shoes from Ohio than from Massachusetts. These are only a few of the straws that how much way the wind is blowing.

The Middle West is still inhabited by a pioneer people; they have been so busy getting things going that they have had rarely time to acquire all the refinements (sic) of the East, but they are doing their best. It is true that no Western hot-ball team has yet succeeded in downing the elevens of the Eastern universities; still we have reason to believe that Western colleges are fair efficient, and turn out men whose scholarship is not worthwhile. When we have a great editor saying that the public schools in Indianapolis are better than those of Boston, the West need not greatly resent its savagery, nor resent the occasional condescending smile which comes to it from over the Alleghenies. The East must have some solace, and the Westerners do not mind. They go on building school-houses and roads and public buildings and making their cities beautiful.

Here is a little story which may serve an apology. It is of a New-Yorker not called a Missourian, "provincial."

Once in Missouri the provincial" was the retort. "Everyone in Missouri knows all about New York, but mighty few people in New York know anything about Missouri." I suspect that the man who made his tale was a New-Yorker, and that his hearers considered it a joke. I leave my readers to get a moral. The Middle West, I repeat, goes on her way bringing home ideas from the outside world, and turning them to account in her own housekeeping. Some of her sons East would run the newspapers and the countenances; and some of her daughters would sit on thrones and be desirable. She especially reserved for the middle class. This does not mean that she would not be the West less, but that they are improving the rest of the world, for the one when it will have to come to them. To the Middle West, then, to the people who live in the Northwest Territory and the Louisiana Purchase, we take off our caps! We believe in them sincerely. If any people deserve to have their expansion a success, they do.

## Self-Consciousness

HOREAU characteristically says: "If you want to know a man's faults, ask his friends. They will not tell you, but they know. It is because we believe so thoroughly in our own virtues and Americans at our own interest ourselves in trying to find out what our faults. One such occurs to us to do it. It seems worth while to call attention. This is our self-consciousness—a calling which does a vast deal toward hindering the freedom of the individual. It this continual consciousness of self that makes us Americans so fearful of what our neighbors think of us, that hampers us in our thought, and that makes us less able to act as our right reasoning would dictate. The Englishman, for instance, isals along, calmly ignoring the whole world. This attitude is provocative of this humor at his expense, but does he do better by himself than the man is continually looking from the window to see what people about him are doing? The latter is so busy that he has to realize himself. "Mind your business and endeavor to be what you are, and to be what you need to have."

cause we acknowledge a liking for Browning—these are minor matters indeed; but it is over just such trifles that many of us waste precious moments and more precious brain matter. Let the man and the woman shake himself or herself free from the coils of what "they say" or "how it looks." Let them be big enough not to bother about such little things. Let them think less about their own persons, and more how to enjoy, and profit by and be good in the big, interesting world of people and things which is all about them.

## Any Wife and Any Husband

IT is probable that most of our women readers will look with interest at the article in this number descriptive of the life of an American girl, who by virtue of her marriage holds a place as a sovereign. That she does so is of course partly due to her wisdom in choosing a rising man for her husband; but people who know her feel that it is also due to the fact that she helped her husband to rise. Those of us who are forever looking for morals in the happenings of the world are quick to seize upon this as a good example for wives the world over. Men are pretty pliable creatures. A good many of them owe their downfall to ill-considered marriages; but as many more owe their success in large part to their wives. When a woman marries, she has just one duty before her—to be a helpmeet to her husband. She may neither be satisfied to sit at home and be taken care of, nor to go her own way and be interested in her societies, her clubs or her own exclusive matters. She and her husband are one. His interests are hers. If they expect to get anything out of life, they must get it together. Work, pleasure, pain, must be met with a common front; there will be common progress. It is right and proper that a woman should be ambitious for her husband. Something is wrong if she is not. So when we find one who is, she presents an example worth pointing to.

All this, of course, is nothing derogatory to the junior Irish baron. Many great men have been glad to acknowledge their debt to their wives (Lord Salisbury is an excellent instance), and if we point to one such we but pay tribute to his wisdom of choice. It is a wise man who chooses a wife meet for him; he is a wise woman who sets out to help her husband, and a very foolish one who allows herself to be a drawback, or merely a piece of luggage to be carried along.

## As to War

OPTIMISTS who are continually piping about the world growing better have not much to encourage them in the present attitude of the earth, who are looking upon one another in anything but a spirit of brotherly love. The facts in the case seem to be that nowadays everybody wants everything. Nations, as well as individuals, have become affected with an indeterminate greed for gain. One would think that Russia had enough territory to keep her busy, without going to war with Japan in order to get a few more seaports. England's ambition has led her to gobble everything in sight that looked marketable, and even the United States seems to have been bitten with the desire to own things. The Russian-Japanese affair is the serious in the press, and it will be interesting to watch the outcome in the light of Mr. Maxim's predictions of last month. We can hope that since the conflict has started so bitterly, it will be short. The pity of it is that it had to be at all. A little more forbearance, a little less ambition for wealth, and a good many people would have been the gainers. It will probably all turn out right in the end; but the people who go about predicting that the millennium is at hand, and that war has ceased from the earth, have not much upon which to felicitate themselves.

Live your life as you think right and best, but be very slow to condemn those who think and live differently from you.

Look for your own faults, but don't orry about other people's unless they ok for you.

## THE ECONOMY OF JAP-A-LAC

In-ninety out of every hundred American homes there is a use for Jap-a-lac.

It may be some time yet before Jap-a-lac will be used in all these homes, but the present rate it won't be so long, either.

Five years ago Jap-a-lac was unheard of. Last year we sold a quarter of a million dollars' worth, equal to more than 1,670,000 quarter-pint cans.

This is due to two things: First, to the economy of Jap-a-lac; second, to the advertising.

Jap-a-lac is the original floor finish and high-grade colored varnish. It comes ready to dip the brush in, and any one in the household, except the baby, can use.

It comes in twelve colors and natural—or clear—and may be used for a finish on floors, chairs, tables, bedsteads, picture-frames, metal work, in fact anything and everything where a smooth and glossy finish is desired. It is tough, elastic and durable, may be washed with soap and water, and when used on the floor does not turn white under heel-marks.

Oak, Cherry, Walnut, Mahogany, White—any wood finish you desire may be secured with Jap-a-lac. The Ox-blood, Malachite Green, and Blue, are for use decorative effects where it is desired to follow a color scheme. There are special colors for metal work, refinishing old carriages, etc.

It costs about ten cents to transform an old chair or table into a random stylish piece of furniture by the use of Jap-a-lac. And you have the satisfaction doing it yourself.

If you could come to us, we would gladly give you a sample can of Jap-a-lac to try you try it. We will give you a can free as it is, if you will pay the cost of mailing. Mention this magazine and send ten cents—the exact cost of mailing—and tell us what color you want. We will send the can of Jap-a-lac without charge.

We also send on request a booklet about Jap-a-lac, a beautiful color card, and a sample piece of wood showing the model floor finish.

Please be sure to mention this magazine when you write.

## THE GLIDDEN VARNISH CO.

Makers of High-Grade Varnishes.

Department O, 1036 Williamson Building, CLEVELAND, OHIO

Contents-
January, 1911

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>PAGE</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>COVER DESIGN</td><td>Arthur G. Eldredge</td></tr><tr><td>CONTENTS DESIGN</td><td>J. E. Green 207</td></tr><tr><td>FRONTISPIECE. A Browsing Deer</td><td>Louise Birt Baynes 208</td></tr><tr><td>WILD LIFE IN WINTER</td><td>John Burroughs 209</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by Julian Burroughs, Ernest Harold Baynes, Louise Birt Baynes, and A. Radclyffe Dugmore.</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>PETER AND POLLY</td><td>Eugene J. Hall 212</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by Cornelia Clarke</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>SUCCESSFUL AMERICAN GARDENS-IV. Millpond Plantation</td><td>Wilhelm Miller 214</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by Moller, H. E. Angell, A. R. Coleman and W. A. Round</td><td>[Continued on page clxxx]</td></tr><tr><td>THE NEW FLORIDA-III. Where Celery is King</td><td>A. W. Dimock 219</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by Julian A. Dimock</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>CUTTING LOOSE FROM THE CITY-IV.</td><td>Emily Grant Hutchings 223</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by Edwin Hutchings</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Cocoa nut in Florida</td><td>How Bees May Pay for an Education</td></tr><tr><td>An Acanthus from Hadrian's Villa</td><td>The Nature Clubs Contributor's Column</td></tr><tr><td>More Building Experiences</td><td>Outdoor Sleeping the Year Round</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>PAGE</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>THE QUAINT OLD WARE OF BENNINGTON</td><td>Lilian Leslie Tower 226</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by A. B. Oatman and others</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>GARDEN AND GROUNDS</td><td>Thomas McAdam 229</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by Arthur G. Eldredge and Nathan R. Graves</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>GARDENING UNDER GLASS</td><td>Benjamin Goodrich 230</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by Nathan R. Graves</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>STOCK AND POULTRY</td><td>F. D. Coburn and F. H. Valentine 231</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by F. H. Valentine, U. R. Fishel and others [Continued on page clxxviii]</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>STABLE AND KENNEL</td><td>James W. Dixon, Wallace Snow, and N. Newnham-Davis 233</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by Schreiber & Sons, H. B. Rathbone, and others</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>A COUNTRY BARN WITH ATTRACTIONS AND CONVENIENCES</td><td>Paul M. Randall 235</td></tr><tr><td>HARMONIZING A HOUSE AND BUILDING SITE</td><td>Phil M. Riley 236</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by Julian Buckly</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>THE CORNER CUPBOARD OF COLONIAL DAYS</td><td>Mira Burr Edson 237</td></tr><tr><td>Photographs by Mary H. Northend</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

TO CONTRIBUTORS.—While we are always glad to receive and examine manuscripts and photographs, we cannot hold ourselves responsible for them. All manuscripts which the writers desire returned must be accompanied by sufficient postage.

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COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY

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## The Editor's

### The Duty of Mothers

SOMETHING of what is to follow has been said before in these columns, but it sometimes well to repeat a true thing a different way.

A mother and a wife should not forget that she owes some duty to herself. In the stress of family life, in the cares of bringing up children, many women do forget this. They fancy that they must yield the poor, hard-working, bread-earning husbands from all the troubles and annoyances of the home. For him there should be slippers at the fire and a cushion on the chair. His not to parade the floor with an obstreperous infant; his not to haggle with the grocerman! No; he pays the bills, that's enough. Let the wife relieve him of all domestic worry. And the children? Of course, they must go to school just as well as the husband, even though the child is not yet able to do it.

It takes it for granted that she must exercise herself, and the others take it or refuse, too. But everybody has some right to a certain amount of living for his own life. Everybody has a right to a slice of his own life to spend as he or she chooses. And the mother should not let him or her only think of her own. But not only she herself, but the whole family, would be bettered if they were not allowed forever and eternally to lean on the mother. It is not because they are ose-hearted that they do it; it is because they do not think, and, in the other's love she does not think, either, it cheerfully gives herself, when it would require a little of the others.

Medicals in the their strengthening modern standards of science and the ability to think and act independently.

Such periodsicalise people enough to call the filterions of college education. Time spent on Latin or Greek, poetry or the higher learning, their count wasted; for nothing is grist to their mill unless it has definite money value, unless it is something for which there is a market. Alas! that anybody should be led astray by rich sofisticacy. Money is a fine thing, etc. We get all we can, and do with it what best for us. But let us not educate ourselves or our children in such a way that without large and pleasing sums of money our life will seem a failure. For then all is said, most of us will have to content ourselves in this world with a small portion of lucre. Facing this, let a man prepare for its absence by living other interests and other aspirations—possessions not dependent on fluctuations of the mercurial market. "An aspiration," says Stevenson, "is a by forever, a possession as solid as an ended estate—a fortune which can be spent, but which gives us year revenues of pleasurable activity. Many of these is to be spiritually

to be "spiritually rich" is what very wise man tries to make himself. that he helps us to be rich in this way the strong argument in favor of the rilleries of college education. An ac- maintainance with the genial Horace, an appreciation of the bringing health of the body and the mind, "the moth-eaten trappings of the infidel" and the "scarecrow"—these will not be taken in ad to the corner grocery, but they do much to lighten many a spirit and to rekindle many a soul. Not conver- ible int each, she nevertheless aid in keeping their possessor at the top of his condition, and he will do better work in other fields because of them. It is super- mental reasoning which frowns on the humanities, "the moth-eaten trappings of the infidel" and the "scarecrow"—these will not be taken in ad to the corner grocery, but they do much to lighten many a spirit and to rekindle many a soul. Not conver-

## Point of View

### Believe in Your Friends

HUMAN beings live up to our ideas of them. If you require much of a man, the chances are that he will try to meet that requirement. You pay a tribute to the manhood or womanhood of an individual every time you show belief in him; and since even the lowest has a spark of bigness in his nature, he cannot but be touched by that belief. It is, if you will, a subtle sort of flattery to expect goodness and truth and wisdom from poor human beings, but it is flattery in the right direction; it is not selfish: it tends to aid the flattered, and not the flatterer.

Cynicism and disbelief are, on the other hand, an invitation to the cowardly. They are nothing more than a condorcement of wrong. To the man who expects nothing, nothing will be realized. Do you care to prove to a man that you are mainly if he sneers at you for a fool and suspects a darker motive for your goodness? Not so. But do you not feel bigger and better and fresher when you have come in contact with a soul who believes in the inherent good of the race and of you as an individual?

The lesson is plain. Not only attempt to reach a higher mark in your own living, but be one of those cheerful souls who believe in the people about them. Require of your friends that they act wisely. Show some of their virtues. Believe in their virtue and goodness until you have absolute proof in the other direction. So will you be giving them a push up the hill, instead of, like the cynic, continually dragging them down by the coat-tails. The cynic may tell you that you are foolish, he may laugh at your ignorance; never mind, his belief is no more philosophy. And it has the added disadvantage of not being cheerful. Belief is positive, disbelief is negative, and positiveness is the most bracing philosophy.

### Writing English

THERE is a duty for Americans which few of them take into serious account. That is the duty of learning to write good English; not that they may enlarge the already too-long list of people who want to contribute to newspapers, but merely that they express themselves in their letters so that other people will know what they mean. It is appealing to see how great a portion of letter-writers do not succeed in saying what they want to. Doubtless they know themselves, and by word of mouth, with the aid of the hands, could make themselves clear, but pen, ink and paper is a new field, and they leave the recipient muddled. This thing of knowing how to write a clear business letter is as necessary to women as to men. Before learning to play the piano or paint china a woman should learn to express herself in her native tongue. It is almost as important as knowing how to make beds or broil a beefsteak; not quite, to be sure, but it is so important that, it needs greater attention than it gets. The inability to write clearly comes in part from a slovenly way of thinking. We do not reason in straight lines. We have a lot of ideas, but they are jumbled. This is not so noticeable in speech, but when they are committed to paper the fabric is a tottering affair. To be systematic in thought and action, that is the secret of clearness. People should understand once and for all that the ability to write does not come as a gift from God, but that neither is it a hidden art, and that a little practice and thought will enable them to write clearly and understandingly. They owe it to themselves and their neighbors to give the matter that practice and that thought.

A religious man who believes earnestly in his religion is an inspiration. Religion under these circumstances is good and true: only when it is half-hearted and conventional do outsiders have cause to question it.

Conversation is becoming most artful: the art of speaking aptly and with grace should be cultivated as ardently as the art of writing correct English. You speak with a man ten times as often as you write to him.

People are glad of your presence in proportion as you help them to feel that life is a good thing.

An honest, undisguised soap, with its own clear, wholesome scent, indicating its true antiseptic qualities. It is more than soap, yet costs no more, and does more. Lifebuoy Soap gives double protection, for it adds to the cleansing value of fine soap a sure power to destroy germs of infectious disease, so that the woodwork and floors, the family washing, the toilet and bath take on new antiseptic and health-promoting features.

"He Stood Like a Stalotype Before the Mouth of the Den"

hit it?" but "Where shall I hit it?" This was one reason why he had been selected as the best man to keep down the foxes in the game preserve in which we stood at that moment.

As every one knows, foxes are very destructive to small game, particularly to such birds as pheasants, grouse and quail, which nest on the ground. At no time of the year is the danger so great as in May and June, when the birds are sitting, and when the foxes have hungry young ones at home. At this time birds are destroyed in great numbers, for young foxes have keen appetites, and their parents use phenomenal cunning to supply the youngsters with the best the woods afford. And this was why Tom was out so early—he was on his way to visit a den he knew in a certain rocky ravine, and destroy the mother of a promising litter of young foxes, as she returned at dawn with food for her children. The father had been shot ten days before, as he came down a lonely woodland path with a muskrat in his mouth; so that when Tom settled scores with the mother the whole family would be wiped out, since there "as nothing to stand between the little ones and starvation.

do you

We set
came to a
go back alone
termination of an
of foxes. Half an
I was back at the
to the grouse still in my
That grouse was the last
of a faithful mother to her in
nocent, blue-eyed babies, and
I was determined that they
should have the benefit of it.
It seemed to me that the bird
had been bought for those
cubs, and the red stains upon
the rocks before me I re-
garded as a receipt in full from
the State. So I knelt down by
the mouth of the den and
threw the grouse far back into
it. That would keep them
alive for a day or two, and in
the mean time I would think
out a plan for their support.

What I should have liked
to do was to take the young-
sters home and bring them up
by hand, but that was out of
the question at this time, since

your face,
up the instrument.
has given way within my heart, the
and as I play I know at last that I
to look into your eyes. My Fraulein,
ink you now?”

can this be true?” she faltered.

She her and took her hands in his.

has been in my heart from that first
went on; "all this long winter it has been
my guide. Ah, if you knew, Fraulein
I have lived over each moment of your pres-
I have treasured your few brief words, you
I say I did not know you. He told me of you,
good old master, told me with tears, my brave
and he—the little Gustav. I dragged from
willing lips all that he had to tell. I must needs
be in him at length, and then he grew more tender
consented to write me a word at times. Fraulein,
story is nearly done. The beauty of your life has
made me—will make me—all that I may ever be. Now
turn to your own heart and ask it if you, too, know me;
if you can give me that love for which I come a beggar."

Miriam did not draw her hands away; she only looked into those eager eyes while tears filled her own.

"When I was a child," she began, "I dreamed of
going about with you, charming the whole world with
our music; later I hoped to meet you as a brother artist,
somewhere over there across the seas—but now—now
you have found me empty-handed; I have nothing to
bring you, not even a buried talent. And yet, since
you have—come to me to-day—I am restless no longer.
Your success, your genius, is enough now. All my
thwarted ambitions are merged in yours, all my longings
are stilled. I shall be content to go about with you,"
and she dropped her eyes shyly. "It will be you who
give the concerts, you who will bring the world to your
feet—but I—what shall I care if I can be there to see,
if I can know that the heart of the great violinist rests in
mine? Can you be content with so small a gift?"

Herr Linder crushed the little hands against his lips.

"Beloved!" he cried. "Have I not told thee it is
thy work, not mine? The violinist could not be great
without you. My soul was dumb till you bade it speak.
Henceforth, it is not I, nor thou, for our spirits have
become one. Is it not so, my Fraulein? Thou wilt be
my wife? Thou wilt come with me?"

"Whither thou goest I will go," she repeated
softly, and then, answering the yearning in his eyes, she
leaned toward him and their lips met.

THE END

and laid
on the
you. Will

come to you.”
and looked
and when the crowd had
some one touch her arm.

and looked
to his farewell.
more, but for once the
and when the crowd had
some one touch her arm.
added her hand. "We are so
in Boston again," she said heartily, but
before his gaze and she could say no more.
have the honor to accompany you home,
" he asked.

she refuse? Nay, she did not wish to.

they walked through the crowded streets she
ked of his winter and listened eagerly to all he told
her, supplementing his modest account with words of
her own now and then.

When they reached the house she led him into the old
drawing-room and bade him lay aside his hat and coat.
Herr Linder looked about approvingly at the quiet
room with its fine pictures, the books, the piano, and
the spring flowers in the windows.

"And this is where you live," he said softly. "Ah,
ere is a little nosegay I brought for you," and he drew
om his pocket a small bunch of violets.

394

THE STORY OF "ACTÆON," A VIRGINIA DEER.

fox which, close at hand, I could distinguish
from all other foxes I had ever seen; and so, at
short range, I believe I could distinguish Ac-
tæon instantly from any one of ten thousand
other white-tailed deer. He was lying half
hidden beneath the low-growing branches of a
spruce, and calmly chewing the cud. I called
to him softly, and he started and turned his
great dark eyes in my direction. His ears were
bent to catch the slightest repetition of the
sound he had heard. I spoke louder, and he
sprang to his feet; then he gave a little snort
and was about to dash away among the trees,
when I spoke again and held out my hand to
him. Instantly he stepped forth and strode out
to meet me. After advancing a little way, he
stopped, shook his tail, and moved his head
from side to side a time or two to make sure
he was not mistaken; and then he came up
and began licking my hands and clothing. He
was wonderfully beautiful. Not a vestige of his
winter coat remained; he was clad completely

in his thin red summer pelage, which displays
his graceful, sinewy form to the best advantage
and gave him a look of great refinement
especially about the head, the beautiful mode
of which had been completely hidden by
heavy mass of brown hair which had
fallen from him. Upon his head were
antlers, now fully six inches long, thick,
at the ends, and covered with the velvet. They
were warm to the touch, and the young buck
seemed to enjoy having them rubbed, for he
lowered his head and pushed them into my
hands as if to get the full benefit of the rubbing.
By and by he dropped to his knees and lay
down again, and I lay down close to him that
I might stroke and admire him. When we
arose he began to browse, and bidding him
goodbye, I started for home. But he was not
going to lose me this time, and I had not gone
far before I heard him pattering behind me.
Sometimes he would stop a little while to nibble
the leaves or grass by the way, but before I was

ACTÆON WADING IN A TROUT BROOK, AUGUST, 1905.

L. M. B.

Awnings
and Tents for
Rental.

C. W. Chamberlain

Shop: 13 Bergen Street
Englewood, N. J.

Est. 1870 Tel. 228-R

NOW is the time to have your
Awnings made

New Bicycle Store

OPENED
At No. 25 Dean Street

ALL KINDS OF
Bicycles and Supplies

REPAIRS AT THE LOWEST PRICES

New tires, $1.25 up
New bicycles, $16.00 up

MANAGER, SAM POPICK
5 Dean St., near Bergen St.

FRED SORGE

HINERY AND REPAIR SHOP

Formerly Gregory's Garage

HREY ST., ENGLEWOOD, N. J.

Sewing Machines, and all
kinds of machinery repaired
Lawn mowers sharpened.
Die makers, Drilling, etc.

SACTION GUARANTEED

FOR SALE

100-7-room house on Cross St.; lot
0x150; $1000 Cash. Bargain.

100-8-room house on Elmore Ave.;
large barn; lot 50x150. Terms easy.

100-9-room house on West Palisade
Ave.; lot 50x150; $1000 Cash. Bar-
cain.

1,000-12-room house on Franklin
St.; lot 150x150. Terms easy.

1500-7-room house on Slocum Ave.;
city water; lot 50x109.

100-10-room house on James St.;
ot 50x150. Easy terms.

WM. CONKLIN

REAL ESTATE and INSURANCE
DEAN ST. ENGLEWOOD

JAMES L. ABBOTT & SON

MANOS

MANUFACTURED
REPAIRED
RENTED
TUNED

Phonographs and Musical Goods

Telephone 33-W
pine Avenue FORT LEE, N. J.

profit and the benefit goes to my customers.

I make a specialty of remodeling old Jewelry
in the most up-to-date and latest styles.

M. L. WETSTEIN

No. 8 Dean Street

JEWELRY AND WATCHES EXPERTLY REPAIRED

Victrolas

Records

G. J. SCOTT

47 Dean Street

Bicycles

Sporting Goods

Bottle Fed Babies

If the baby is to be artificially fed, the food
selected is vitally essential. A malted food
that consists of every necessary property is

BORDEN'S
Malted Milk

IN THE SQUARE PACKAGE

It has every element of body-building nutrition
essential to the health, strength, robust development
of the child. It contains no ingredient that is not
necessary to the child's physical welfare. It is easily
prepared, palatable, will not cause fermentation and
satisfies every craving of the infant.

SOLD AND GUARANTEED BY

ALL FIRST-CLASS DRUGGISTS

J. D. PROBST
President

R. E. COCHRAN
Vice-President

F. P. HOLRAN
Secretary and Treasurer

DIRECTORS

E. R. BARTON

R. E. COCHRAN

F. P. HOLRAN

J. D. PROBST

J. W. PROCTOR, M. D.

ENGLEWOOD HYGEIA ICE CO.

MANUFACTURERS OF

HYGEIA ICE

OUR DISTILLED WATER

ON SALE AT

DRUG AND GROCERY STORES IN ENGLEWOOD

Quality First

Spring is here and we are in a position
to offer you the best and choicest of Fancy
Milk Veal, Sugar Cured Hams, Spring
Baby Lamb, Canada Mutton, Prime Rib
Roast, Choice Juicy Steaks, Chops that
taste like Chops, Milk Fed Broilers, Large
Jumbo Squabs and Sweetbreads.

We are now handling the Finest Delaware
Shad ever caught, Little Neck Clams and Fancy
Striped Bass.

KINDLY GIVE US A CALL

Respectfully,

SHAFER & VORSANGER

Dealers in Highest Grade of Meats
at Prices Consistent with Quality

Telephones 846, 847

18 EAST PALISADE AVE., ENGLEWOOD, N. J.

The Loaf of Bread that's
"Not Loaded"

Contains No Plaster of
Paris, Alum or Other
Injurious Substitutes

MADE IN ENGLEWOOD, N. J.

["ENGLEWOOD BIRD CLUB.", "A paper of unusual interest to Englewood people was presented by Frank M. Chapman at the May 18th meeting of the Englewood Bird Club, held at the home of Mrs. Graham Sumner. The paper, which follows, was entitled \"Englewood as a Bird Sanctuary.\"", "\"The creation by the Federal Government of over sixty bird reservations, situated from the Florida Keys to the Aleutian Islands, has aroused widespread interest. Not only does this practical method of protecting birds meet with popular approval, but the knowledge that certain areas shall remain in their primeval condition as a home or sanctuary for the various forms of animal life which are native to them, makes a strong appeal to the imagination of every lover of nature.", "\"This action of our government, beginning with Pelican Island, Florida, in 1903, has done much to encourage the establishment of local bird reservations or sanctuaries by individuals and clubs throughout the country. The importance of work of this kind can be appreciated only by those who realize to what an extent the demands of civilization encroach upon the domain of the animal world.", "\"In a measure we know this to be unavoidable. Certain species apparently cannot exist near the haunt of man; but so far as birds are concerned, we can preserve a large part of our avifauna, and thereby we shall not only assure the continued existence of creatures as useful as they are beautiful, but we shall make the world more attractive for both them and ourselves.", "\"The proper development of the sanctuary idea has usually called for the setting aside of a suitable tract of land. For example, Ernest H. Baynes, in his recent address to the Women's Club, spoke of the success which has attended his efforts in finding such a sanctuary at Meriden, New Hampshire, and he has kindly offered to assist us in forming one along similar lines in Englewood. I am convinced, however, that the conditions existing in Englewood are so unusual they should be treated on their own merits and not in the light of experiences elsewhere.", "\"The western slope of the Palisades, from Fort Lee to Piermont, is an almost unbroken stretch of woodland in which, at irregular intervals, there are set singly, or in more or less scattered groups, the dwellings of man.", "\"To certain arboreal birds the presence of these dwellings has not materially altered the face of nature, and they are as common within our city limits as they are outside them. More terrestrial species find a lack of shelter and favorable nesting places, and, without relation to haunt, there are", "still other birds which cannot successfully compete with certain forms of life introduced by man.", "\"But, on the whole, from the bird's point of view, man has caused surprisingly little damage in this area which he could not repair.", "\"So great, therefore, are our natural advantages that, instead of seeking some more or less remote tract of land as the site of a bird sanctuary, I suggest that we turn Englewood itself into a bird sanctuary.", "\"This eminently desirable end would, first, through added vegetation, add to the beauty of our town; second, the resulting increase of insect-eating birds would better preserve existing vegetation, and third, we should have added opportunity to establish close associations with the most eloquent expressions of nature's beauty, joy and freedom. In short, we should realize to the fullest degree the value of bird-life as a community asset.", "\"This cannot be done in a season or by an individual, but the growing membership of this club shows that Englewood possesses a surprisingly large number of bird-lovers, who, if they are in favor of the plan I have proposed, can unquestionably bring about its fulfillment.", "\"As individuals we may study birds each in our own way, and as members of this club we may present our more noteworthy observations to our fellow-members, but as a club we should arouse and stimulate an interest in Citizen Bird through the development of what, for lack of a better name, I may call civic ornithology. If by so doing we can double, or possibly quadruple, the population of beneficial birds we shall have rendered our community a service of incalculable value.", "\"The plan I have in mind is both constructive and destructive. It calls, on the one hand, for additional cover-nesting sites and food, and, on the other, for control of the enemies of birds. I present it here only in outline, with the hope that the club will see fit to issue at seasonable times special bulletins which will give lists of trees and shrubs, types of bird-houses, etc., and further details regarding the methods here advocated. \"Planting for Shelter and Nesting Sites.\"", "", "\"While from the air Englewood may appear to be woodland, a ground, or thicket-haunting bird, which desired to reside with us would find a sad lack of undergrowth in which it might find shelter and a nesting site. We should therefore encourage the planting of shrubbery in masses, and with a bushy undergrowth, such, for example, as barberry gives, to replace in part the natural growth which has disappeared. When possible, these clumps should connect with hedgerows, which would then form natural pathways to and from them.", "\"The more closely-branched evergreens, like arbor-vitæ and cedar, ofer shelter throughout the year; and a brush heap overgrown with wild mimilis or other vines, placed in shrubbery or some inconspicuous corner, makes a capital home for thrashers and catbirds.", "\"Unnecessary 'cleaning up' should be avoided. The farmer who laboriously cuts away the tangle of wild growth which springs up along fence rows makes just that much less space for birds and that much more for weeds.", "\"Judicial pruning will not only give denser growth, but can be made to supply finger-like whorls of close-growing limbs which are quickly accepted by birds as nest sites.", "Planting for Food.", "\"There is a long list of trees and bushes bearing fruit for birds, many of which, like dogwood, mountain ash and the various haws, are in themselves desirable. Species which, like those just mentioned, supply food in the fall and winter are especially to be desired, but the early mulberries should also be planted since they serve the double purpose of attracting birds and protecting more valuable fruits.", "\"A trumpet vine which will produce hummingbirds as well as flowers, and sunflowers, which, when left hanging on their stalks, will later blossom with goldfinches, should find places in our garden; and in odd corners we may sow a handful of wheat, buckwheat or millet.", "Bird Boxes.", "\"To the available natural nesting sites we may add various types of bird-boxes. This is one of the most direct and most effective means of adding to our summer resident bird population. The person who makes four birds nest where only two nested before cannot but have that personal, intimate interest in their welfare which we have for the flowers. Both owe their presence to us and to both therefore we are responsible. They are 'our' flowers and, in a measure at least, 'our' birds. Each will repay us after its kind, and from both we may derive that type of satisfaction which comes from a successful attempt to be the presiding genius of that particular bit of the earth's surface we can call our own.", "Drinking and Bathing Stations.", "\"While during the summer we cannot compete with nature as a food provider a supply of fresh water for drinking and bathing will always have a long list of bird patrons. Bird-baths in the form of fountains, grottoes, or water-gardens make in themselves most attractive additions to any garden, and the evident enjoyment birds derive from them on warm summer days is shared in no small measure by their owners.", "Feeding Stations.", "\"Possibly no form of hospitality we offer our bird neighbors is more welcomed by them than an invitation to make free of the lunch counters we spread with the fare which especially appeals to them. Given at a time when the natural food supply is at a minimum, our bounty not only wins its reward many-fold but often preserves many birds which without it would perish.", "\"I trust that in due season the club will issue a bulletin on winter feeding with lists of foods and instructions for the setting of the b'drs' table, and that during the coming winter the Englewood home which is without this offering to the birds will be an exception.", "Control of Bird Enemies.", "\"Under no circumstances should we invite the birds to abide with us unless we can assure them reasonable immunity from the dangers to which bird-life is heir.", "\"The nest box or lunch counter which is so placed that it is readily accessible to cats should never be placed at all. If we cannot control the cat question, at least we need not make it any easier forpusy to bring down her prey. But why can we not control it? Why should not cats as well as dogs be licensed? No real lover of cats should object to her pet being given a legal status. Homeless and ownerless cats should then be destroyed, and their destruction is often an act of mercy which should meet with the approval of the most humane person.", "\"At the best we shall always have some cats to contend with, their instincts for the chase unblunted by close association with a tender-heartedress; but their bird-killing proclivities can be to some extent curtilled by various devices in the way of fences, tree-guards, etc., designed for the purpose.", "\"Dogs, particularly hunting-dogs, can make it impossible for ground-nesting species to live in areas over which they roam. Clumps of shrubbery or bushes which might attract towees, yellow-throats, thrashers and many birds of similar habits, should therefore be protected by chicken-wire fences, which when painted green and set within the outer growth will be inconspicuous.", "\"Finally, we have the English sparrow and the European starling to deal with. The latter can unquestionably be controlled, the former has thus far effectively defied every attempt toward its local extermination. We can, however, greatly reduce the number of sparrows by consistent, continuous, co-operative effort. This is a problem in civie ornithology which will thoroughly test the value, not of birds, but of this bird club as a community asset.", "\"The bird population of a region similar to ours is usually about one pair to the acre; but at Chevy Chase, Maryland, through the use of various means for encouraging birds to which I have referred, this number has been raised to seven pairs per acre. Let us see if in Englewood we cannot equal this record!\"", "The next meeting of the Englewood Bird Club will be at the home of Mrs. D. F. Platt, on June 7th. There will be a report on the Englewood bird census by members of the club, and addresses on Englewood bird-life, illustrated with stereopticon slides, by Frank M. Chapman and Beecher S. Bowdish, of the New Jersey Audubon Society.", "Borough of Palisades Park\nNOTICE OF TAX SALE", "NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that I, Henry Goldberger, Collector of Taxes of the Borough of Palisades Park, Bergen County, State of New Jersey, pursuant to the authority of the statutes in such case made and provided, will on Thursday, July 1, 1915, at 3.30 o'clock in the afternoon of that day, in the Borough Hall, corner of Central boulevard and Broad avenue, in the said taxing district, expose for sale and sell the several tracts and parcels of land hereinafter specified, on which the taxes for the year 1913 remain unpaid and in arrears, to such person or persons as will purchase the same for the shortest term and pay the tax lien hereon. In pending interest and costs of sale, or if none, where no one will bid for a shorter term.", "\"The said land, and the names of the persons against whom the said taxes have been assessed, and the amount of the same, are as follows:", "Joseph Barton, Block 3, lots 4110 and 1-5 4109, $45.94.", "E. Bonnott, Block 5, lot 4142, $4.53.\nAnthony Williams, Block 19, lot 4373, $2.27.", "Dwight L. Hubbard, Block 10, lots 4379, 4380, $4.53.", "Charles Edgar, Block 30, lots 34 A B C D E F, $18.10, 36 A

*Defender of Science, True Friend of Bird and Beast.*

ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES—1868; 1925

Ernest Harold Baynes died on January 20th at his home in Meriden, New Hampshire. For fifty-seven years he had been a true friend of animals, supporter of the scientists, a distinguished naturalist, an unusual photographer. His tragic illness cut short many plans, but the movements into which he had put his fine energy are now well-established. He started the "Bird Club" idea, with the organization of the world-famous bird sanctuary at Meriden. He defended what is often erroneously called vivisection, until now the honest facts of medical experiment are widely understood. His writings and lectures demonstrated an attitude toward birds and animals very different from the sentimental, over-humanizing thing of the last century. He was so busy with this lecturing and article-writing that it was only toward the end of his life that he started publishing the group of books which have been so successful: "Polaris, the Story of an Eskimo Dog;" "Jimmie, the Story of a Black Bear Cub;" "The Sprite, the Story of a Red Fox." (Macmillan publications.)

*The New York Times*, in an editorial on his death, says: "These are remarkable books, and, quite unconsciously and unintentionally, they tell as much about their author as about their four-footed heroes. He never boasts of his power as a tamer of beasts and of his ability to gain the confidence of the most suspicious of them; but he had both to an extraordinary degree."

*The Boston Transcript*, in its article on Mr. Baynes following his death, recalls the friendship and support given him by Theodore Roosevelt and their work together to save the American lasson. It concludes: "With the passing of Ernest Harold Baynes, his friends have lost one of the most lovable men who ever lived, a man whose life was ever unselfish, who would drop his personal affairs in favor of the call of his friends, who hewed his ideals at any sacrifice to himself."

Alert, yet motionless as a bronze statue

## "The Sprite"

### A REVIEW OF ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES' STORY OF A RED FOX¹

By G. CLYDE FISHER

ALL lovers of animals will be delighted to learn that Ernest Harold Baynes has put another of his stories into book form. Its predecessors, *Polaris, The Story of an Eskimo Dog*, and *Jimmie, The Story of a Black Bear Cub*, are splendid tales, but *The Sprite, The Story of a Red Fox* is an even more masterly production. The reason is not far to seek,— Mr. Baynes loved The Sprite best of all his wild animal companions, and he has given us the intimate biography of a friend, yet has avoided humanizing his subject. Without being over-sentimental, his account makes a strong appeal to our sympathy.

It begins with the babyhood of The Sprite and paints a wonderful picture of his life during the two years that he was a member of the Baynes'

household. The following paragraphs of the preface may be quoted for their revelation of the author's rich response to the interest and beauty of wild life;

I wish it were possible to tell you what I feel about foxes—the sensations which come when I see one in the open. I hold my breath; my clothes feel too small for me; I can hardly speak. It is much the same feeling that I should have were I suddenly to come upon a fairy. There is such beauty in his form and coloring—such grace and poetry in his motion—such mystery in his coming and his going. I have never known anyone to describe successfully the movement of a fox. Perhaps it is one of those delicate things which words will not describe. At times it might be simulated by a ball of tawny fur blown swiftly along, close to but not quite touching the ground; at others by a puff of reddish smoke, at one moment seen distinctly, then melting softly into the landscape. It is subtle as the passing of the shadow of a cloud across a field of waving grain.

¹The Sprite, The Story of a Red Fox by Ernest Harold Baynes. With many illustrations from photographs by Louise Birt Baynes and the author, and an Introduction by Dallas Lore Sharp. Published, 1924, by The Macmillan Company.

94

THE SPRITE

95

And think of such beauty coming into one's life in the person of a fox that loves you. It is an experience as rare as it is beautiful, and we are deeply grateful that it has been ours. If anyone else has had such an experience I have never heard of it. For nearly two years, The Sprite, a wonderful specimen of his race, as his photographs will show, was a guest in our home. Part of that time his wife and babies were also guests. Usually he came and went as he chose, and he made for himself a place not only in our hearts, but in the hearts of our neighbors.

It is with mingled feelings that I undertake to tell the story. There is joy at the thought of trying to write it, and regret in the realization that I cannot do it justice. At the very outset I am aware that I cannot convey to my readers the peculiar joy which The Sprite brought to us. But if I can make them love him, and other foxes for his sake; if the love I create is strong enough to save even a few foxes from bitter struggles and death in the steel traps—from the indignity of adorning the thoughtless, I shall have done as much perhaps as I can hope for.

The tale is a true one, and for that

reason is a valuable contribution to animal psychology, but its scientific worth is not its greatest claim to distinction, nor is the vividness of the author's language. The special fascination of the story is not scientific or literary at all, but purely human. We are told much to arouse our interest in the fox and, as is inevitable, we learn much about the story-teller, who has done so much for animals.

Mr. Baynes is a dependable naturalist who sees straight, and who writes with a "pen which not only accuracy governs but imagination inspires."

The book is illustrated with many superb photographs by the author and Mrs. Baynes, and the Introduction was written by Dallas Lore Sharp. It is a worthy addition to the literature for young readers, and grown-ups who still have the heart of youth will enjoy it no less.

Waking up with a yawn

WILHELM GERICKE

WILFRED A. FRENCH, PH. D.

N
EVER, perhaps, in the history of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has there been so much speculation regarding the identity of the successor of the retiring conductor, as has been indulged in during the past two months. The interest shown in the change of musical director of this, America's foremost orchestra, has been very extended; for in every city in this country, where the Boston Symphony Orchestra has appeared, there exist hosts of sincere admirers of this admirable body of players, which lowes its peerless technical excellence to the genius of one man — Wilhelm Gericke. For a total of thirteen years, Mr. Gericke has been the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and he is leaving it at a time when his powers seem to have reached their loftiest development. The principal newspapers of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Chicago have editorially commented upon the great loss American musical art sustains by the departure of Mr. Gericke, who has established in the city of Boston the highest standard of orchestral playing that it has been possible to reach. Indeed, as regards technical perfection alone, it is safe to assert that there is no body of instrumentalists, be it in Europe or America, equal to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This opinion is shared by nearly every musician of note who has heard the orchestra, including artists of international repute who have appeared with it as soloists. No other band can boast of the symmetry, the suppleness, the adroit proportioning and the wondrous euphony of its tone. To accomplish these truly remarkable results, Mr. Gericke has labored with rare devotion, sparing not his men and, least of all, himself. All of his vast store of energy and patience has been put into his orchestra, which, as it exists to-day, is practically his creation. During the last few years, as the popularity of the Boston Symphony Orchestra increased, the work of the conductor has grown more taxing, but Mr. Gericke has never wavered in the devotion to his task. On the contrary, during the season just ended, the orchestra has displayed not only an astounding degree of virtuosity — ninety-four men playing with the understanding, expression, enthusiasm and technical finish of one great artist — but with added breadth, warmth and brilliancy, that have astonished even its warmest admirers and won the approval of the most prejudiced music critics. How much, therefore, musical Boston is indebted to this man, is difficult to estimate in ordinary terms. The possession of two great musical organizations, the Handel and Haydn Society and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, surpassed, as these are, by no other similar bodies in existence, gives to Boston the rank of the leading music center in the new world. No one would deny that, after having so brilliantly and successfully accomplished one of the greatest tasks ever imposed upon a musical conductor, Mr. Gericke is entitled to the retirement and rest he has so richly earned; and he takes with him the most profound good wishes of every true music lover of this country, on his voyage to his home in Austria.