Laura, Virgie, and Robert George

this little Volume is

Affectionately Inscribed




INTRODUCTION

This beautiful volume has been written for a good purpose. I had the
pleasure of reading the proof-sheets of the book while in the
Yellowstone National Park, where no gun may be lawfully fired at any of
God's creatures. All animals there are becoming tame, and the great
bears come out of the woods to feed on the garbage of the hotels and
camps, fearless of the tourists, who look on with pleasure and wonder
at such a scene.

"The child is father of the man," and this volume is addressed to the
heart and imagination of every child reader. If children are taught to
love and protect the birds they will remember the lesson when they grow
old. When children learn to prefer to take a "snap-shot" at a bird
with a camera, rather than with a gun, they will protect these
feathered friends for their beauty, even if they do not regard them for
their usefulness.

Nature has supplied a system of balances if left to itself. Some forms
of insect life are so prolific that but for the voracity and industry