The forest-tops are lowly cast O'er breezy hill and glen, As if a prayerful spirit pass'd On nature as on men. The clouds weep o'er the fallen world, E'en as repentant love; Ere, to the blessed breeze unfurl'd, They fade in light above. The sky is as a temple's arch, The blue and wavy air Is glorious with the spirit-march Of messengers at prayer. The gentle moon, the kindling sun, The many stars are given, As shrines to burn earth's incense on, The altar-fires of Heaven! John Greenleaf Whittier. BIRD-STUDY. To be intimate with Nature is as important to the investigator as the ability to technically classify the things found therein. In this connection we copy, by permission, the words of Olive Thorne Miller, from the "School Room Methods and Nature Study:" "Recognizing a bird on sight or hearing, knowing his nest and eggs, when he arrives in the spring, and when he departs in the fall, does not by any means imply that one is acquainted with the bird himself. All these facts are easily acquired; they have been set down in the books these many years. But whoso really desires to know the little being so beautifully enshrined; to see his home ways with his mate and little ones; to find out his personal habits; his likes and dislikes; his tastes; his disposition; in a word his personality, for him is something very different from book study. He must go into the field and observe for himself; for well as we may know our common birds by sight, glibly as we can explain their anatomy, give their scientific names, and their place in our classification, of their lives and habits we are in almost total ignorance. This is a field of inquiry as fascinating as it is fresh and unexplored. Nothing but the greed of collecting and the passion for classifying, could so long have blinded men to the charm of studying life instead of death, the individual instead of the skin. And this is the beautiful work left for us to do, to make the world acquainted with the lives of our little brothers in feathers. For this work are needed, patience that knows no fatigue, accuracy of observation, enthusiasm that scorns such trifles as wet feet, torn garments, insect bites and stings, burning sun or blistering wind, and above all--lacking which all else is useless--truthfulness that will report correctly, without exaggeration or coloring. To one possessing these qualities a whole world of delight is open.