In the northern woods there are the birch and maple. The bark of the birch is used by the Indians

for making canoes. The maple is an old friend. You have heard how maple sugar is made from its sap.

How many have seen a cottonwood tree? We

find this tree in dry countries.

It grows close to the streams. It is called cottonwood because of the downy tuft upon the seed.

Do you have any oak trees near your home? There are many kinds of oaks.

green and so we call it live oak.

One is always

The fruit trees of our gardens were once wild. Did you ever find apple trees in the woods? Their apples are small and sour. Apple trees have been grown in gardens for many years. This has made the apples larger and more pleasant to the taste.

The nut trees are a great attraction in the fall. Children who have never been nutting do not know what fun it is.

QUESTIONS.

Mention some of the trees that drop their leaves in the fall.
What trees have leaves all of the time?

Describe the leaves of the pine.

In what kind of a covering do the seeds of the pine grow?
Mention some trees that grow upon dry ground. Some that

grow upon wet ground.

Do you know any of the trees that grow in warm regions?
What kinds of trees make the best wood for our fires?

Name as many as you can of the nut trees.

Name a number of fruit trees. Of what use are trees? What is a forest? How do forests protect the soil? What effect has the rain upon countries where there is little vegetation covering the ground?

If birds could talk what stories we might hear.

ago, when Then they

We might learn of a time, ever so long their grandfathers were not birds at all. could not fly, for they had neither wings nor feathers. These grandfathers of our birds had four legs, a long tail and jaws with teeth. After a time feathers grew upon their bodies and their front legs became changed for flying. These were strange looking creatures. There are none living like them now.

All about us now are the pretty birds. They wake us in the morning with their music. We think sometimes that they eat too much of our fruit,

but then, if there were no birds to kill the worms upon the trees we might have less fruit still.

Each kind of bird is fitted for the place in which we find it. Some birds are fitted for life upon the water. Others do not fly much, but spend their time upon the ground, while still others are on the wing much of the time and have their nests in tall trees. The duck lives upon the water. It has strong legs and feet with webs between the toes for paddling.

The stork is a wading bird, hunting for its food in shallow ponds. It has long legs which fit it for wading. In the water it finds insects and little fish, the kinds of food which it loves best.

The hawk has very sharp eyes. As it sails through the sky it is on the watch for a mouse or perhaps a tender chicken. It has sharp talons for catching and holding its food.

How delicate are the feet and legs of the robin. They are so small that it seems as if they could hardly hold up the body of the bird. The robin does but little walking. That is the reason his legs are so small.

The ostrich has such small wings that it cannot fly. This bird has, however, very large legs with which it can run rapidly over the ground.

Each kind of bird builds a different nest, and