lays eggs similar to those of the frog, and whose young upon first
hatching look very much like young tadpoles.

If eggs are found in a pond where frogs are not heard or seen, they will
almost always turn out to be the eggs of a salamander.

X

THE BIRD

From the flower to the bird is a step easily taken if the parent prefers
to omit the intermediate steps, or, after the story of the bird has been
told, the stories of fish and frog can follow as occasion offers,
instead of preceding it. The bird is peculiarly valuable in teaching the
origin of life to the child, since in it we have such highly developed
home and family instincts, the father bearing his share of the burden,
illustrations of which are rare in the lower forms of life. As
everywhere else, the best starting-point is with the life and interests
of the bird itself, and for this caged birds are far better than the
free ones, even though they may be only the sparrows and pigeons of the
city streets.

The flight of birds is that which particularly interests children as
well as every one else. Birds will soon learn to come to a place where
they are fed regularly; and the style of flight, depending upon the size
and shape of the wing as well as the shape of the bird's body, is a very
interesting study. Many a country child knows the common birds by their
flight even when the bird is too far away and moving too fast to be
distinctly seen. What he generally does not think of is _why_ the bird
has this peculiar flight, and to have his attention called to it may
increase his interest in watching the living bird.

Whatever increases the boy's interest in the live bird tends to decrease
his desire to make it a dead bird; and the numerous good bird-books, as
well as the substitution in so many cases of the camera for the gun, has
tended to preserve the lives of the birds and to create a sentiment in
favor of their preservation. If the young child is taught to watch the
birds and care for them, he will not often, when older, thirst to take
their lives.

While the flight of the bird may engage the first interest of the child,
its manner of eating and drinking is worth attention, and the nature of
its food is of the greatest importance. The shape of the bird's beak
will decide, at least in a general way, the kind of food it eats; and a
little study of birds will convince any one that all birds are useful to
the agriculturist, either as destroyers of noxious