Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: Frontispiece] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Frontispiece by Walter King Stone THE LOG OF THE SUN A Chronicle of Nature's Year By WILLIAM BEEBE Garden City Publishing Co., Inc. Garden City, New York ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COPYRIGHT, 1906, BY HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TO MY Mother and Father WHOSE ENCOURAGEMENT AND SYMPATHY GAVE IMPETUS AND PURPOSE TO A BOY'S LOVE OF NATURE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PREFACE In the fifty-two short essays of this volume I have presented familiar objects from unusual points of view. Bird's-eye glances and insect's-eye glances, at the nature of our woods and fields, will reveal beauties which are wholly invisible from the usual human view-point, five feet or more above the ground. Who follows the lines must expect to find moods as varying as the seasons; to face storm and night and cold, and all other delights of what wildness still remains to us upon the earth. Emphasis has been laid upon the weak points in our knowledge of things about us, and the principal desire of the author is to inspire enthusiasm in those whose eyes are just opening to the wild beauties of God's out-of-doors, to gather up and follow to the end some of these frayed-out threads of mystery. Portions of the text have been published at various times in the pages of "Outing," "Recreation," "The Golden Age," "The New York Evening Post," and "The New York Tribune." C. W. B. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE JANUARY Birds of the Snow 3 Winter Marvels 10 Cedar Birds and Berries 16 The Dark Days of Insect Life 20 Chameleons in Fur and Feather 25 FEBRUARY February Feathers 31 Fish Life 37 Tenants of Winter Birds' Nests 44 Winter Holes 48 MARCH Feathered Pioneers 55 The Ways of Meadow Mice 61 Problems of Bird Life 65 Dwellers in the Dust 71 APRIL Spring Songsters 75 The Simple Art of Sapsucking 81 Wild Wings 85 The Birds in the Moon 88