December Fifteenth
How often you read of, or heard some one speak of, the whale as "the largest of fish." A whale is a mammal, because it suckles its young. It is not only the largest of living mammals, but, according to Mr. Lucas, the large ones are larger than any of the enormous reptiles that inhabited the world before the advent of man, and whose fossil remains may be seen in any of our large museums.
Notes
December Sixteenth
The quiet little tree sparrows spend the winter with us feeding on the seeds of weeds and grasses. You will find their tracks in the snow where flocks have been eating ragweed seeds, and you are likely to see some of them fluttering about in the bushes along the river banks, or in the frozen swamps uttering a pleasing call note. They can be identified by the distinct black spot on the breast and their pinkish bills.
December Seventeenth
There is no better time to study the tracks and nightly doings of animals than after the first fall of snow. Start early in the morning and see how many stories the tracks have written.