All the Land Birds belong to one or more of these guilds; but perhaps we shall find before we are through that some of the Water Birds have a guild of Sea Sweepers." For a few minutes the children scribbled away in silence.
"My book will be very mussy," said Dodo, "for I can't write well when I sit all humped up on a branch." "Of course you cannot," said the Doctor; "but by and by you can copy it out neatly in a clean book, and it will give you something to do on rainy days, for there are some things that we always remember better if we have once written them down." Presently Rap said, "It must be because you never have let any birds be killed here that there are more kinds than I ever see anywhere else--some of every guild, I think.

I've often wondered how it was." "There are four Robins' nests in this one tree," said Olive, "and the old birds have been flying to and fro while we talked, and never dreamed of being afraid." "Yes, children, Orchard Farm always has protected its Bird Citizens, and it always will, in my time." "And in mine, too," said Olive.

"You see if each person would care for the birds on his own land, the Battle of the Bugs would soon become less terrible." Then the children laughed to think how funny a real battle would be, with an army of little bugs drawn up on one side of a field and big House People with guns and cannons on the other.
"But even against cannon," said Olive, "the bugs would have the best of it, because they can fly or hop, and the worms can crawl into the ground." Then the Doctor finished this lesson by saying, quite seriously: "Every time you children deny yourselves the pleasure of taking an egg from a nest, or think to spread a little food for hungry birds, when cold and snow almost force them to starve, you are adding to the food-supply of your country.

To be sure, it may be only a few grains of wheat here and an ear of corn there, but it all means bread-food of some sort, and the bread of a nation is its life.

So we must learn to love and protect this feathered neighbor of ours, who works for his own living as well as ours, pays his rent and taxes, and gives, besides, free concerts to the public, daily.