FOR THEM

BRINGING NATURE INDOORS

It is of utmost importance to remember that although books in schools are well illustrated, even the best illustrations remain as pictures only. The three dimensional objects in an artistically executed display in a museum carry a real conviction that a picture cannot. The beautiful things of life are those things that nature has provided for us.

The University of Nebraska State Museum, located on the lower two floors of Morrill Hall on the University campus in Lincoln, is a natural history museum. It is visited by tens of thousands of school children from Nebraska and ad-joining states each year. The museum is an old institution, having been organized only seven years after Nebraska became a state in the Union. The Museum grew and expanded so rapidly that already it has been necessary to move its quarters twice. The Museum has occupied the present building, Morrill Hall, for eighteen years. Anthropology, geology, paleontology, and zoology are emphasized in the exhibits, with particular stress on specimens native to Nebraska and the Great Plains. The specimens are so numerous that a large percentage of choice material is in storage because of inadequate display space.

An exhibit of outstanding interest is a collection of fossil North American mammals, one of the finest in the world. The dominant feature is Elephant Hall which contains the mounted specimens of ten elephants, many of which once roamed the plains of Nebraska. The paleontological exhibits also include the fossilized remains of sabre-toothed tigers, giant bears, ground sloths, rhinoceroses, camels, horses, four-horned antelopes, three-horned deer, and other rare and unusual animals found in the State. Nebraska is one of the most famous fossil localities in North America, and expeditions are sent here from all over the world in order to secure specimens for natural history museums. You will find fossils from Nebraska on display in museums throughout the world. The ancestors of many of our modern animals, such as the horse, camel, and rhinoceros, are to be found buried in the rocks and soils of Nebraska. Fossils have been reported from all ninety-three counties in the State.

Many important discoveries of fossil remains have been made by school children and their parents. These finds were reported to the Museum and were investigated by field parties sent out from   Outdoor Nebraska—Winter, 1945 5 Lincoln. There are many different ways of collecting fossils and no two specimens are collected in exactly the same manner. The bones may be preserved in unconsolidated sand and may be removed easily with a trowel and brush, but again in the same formation a few miles away the bones may be chiseled out of hard, solid sandstone. Some fossils are well preserved while others are spongy and crumble readily. White shellac is usually used as a preservative. The bones are literally soaked with shellac. When the shellac is dry, thin absorbent paper, such as cleansing tissue, is dipped in water and then placed over the surface of the bones with the aid of a 'brush. The damp paper serves a double purpose in that the paper itself acts as a divider between the bone and the plaster of Paris which is applied later, and the dampness aids in the proper setting of the plaster. Pieces of ordinary sack burlap, cut into strips several inches wide, are dipped into water and then soaked in a mixture of dental-type plaster of Paris. The preliminary dipping of the strips in water helps prevent the premature setting of the plaster. The plaster strips are firmly applied in overlapping arrangement to the top surface of the fossil. If the block containing the fossil is very large, it may be necessary to undercut gradually the specimen and plaster as one proceeds. When the plaster has thorougly set on the top and sides as well as on a portion of the undercut bottom side, the block is turned over and the remaining portion plastered. Often a block is so large or fragile that it is necessary to reinforce the cast with wooden or even metal braces. These are fastened to the cast with the use of more burlap strips and plaster. Blocks occasionally weigh a ton or more. When quick-setting, dental-type plaster is not available, a slow setting variety or even ordinary flour may be used. Although an amateur may be able to collect a rare specimen, it is best to contact a museum and have the professional preparators do the work.

The fossilized remains of many types of marine animals are also found in various parts of Nebraska, giving evidence that Nebraska was once covered by a sea. There were giant fish and lizards, and there were many smaller animals such as corals, sponges, clams, and starfishes. These inhabitants of the sea lived here long before the "Age of Mammals," the time during which the ancestoral horses, camels, elephants, and rhinoceroses roamed the plains.

In the Museum, a visitor will also find the present-day animal life represented by many of the important orders from the simplest single-celled forms to man. These are systematically displayed on the lower floor. The birds of Nebraska are shown in the corridors. Other interesting zoological exhibits are: the albino birds and mammals, the introductory case to mammals, the Adam Breede collection of big game animals of Africa, and the August Eiche game birds of North America. Plans are now being made to install natural habitat groups of Nebraska birds and mammals in the Museum so that the visitors may see animals in their natural surroundings. This has already successfully been done in some of the museums of America.

The anthropology section includes material from many lands. Special interest is manifested in the cases showing artifacts and bones of Early Man, Indian pottery, basketry, implements, and weapons, Egyptian and Peruvian mummies, the Philippine arms collection of General John J. Pershing, and the arms and armor exhibit of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska.

The mineral and rock collections, which are systematically arranged, contain examples of all the common types and many rare forms. The gem exhibit consists principally of many varieties of semi-precious stones from all parts of the world. Meteorites are well represented by a series from Nebraska and other localities. A special case has been   Outdoor Nebraska—Winter, 1945 7 provided for a beautiful and spectacular fluorescent mineral display.

One can always learn much about nature in a good museum.

The progressive museum of today is in a state of transition, and a great future for it lies ahead. Natural history museums are becoming recognized more and more as educational units of the schools of our land. The instructional value of the collections in a well organized museum cannot be overemphasized. The specimens exhibited must be organized in such a way that each display will convey a definite meaning.

A museum may serve the schools in the following ways: first, as pure entertainment; second, as an independent educational unit; third, as a supplement to other educational institutions; and fourth, as an institution of research.

A museum must combine all four functions in order to serve its visitors adequately. It should be not merely a place to be entertained but should be also a place to be taught. It is the responsibility and obligation of the museum to display materials that will supplement the shortcomings of instruction as given in the public school classrooms. In the schools of today, nature (or natural history) is artificially subdivided into various categories for instruction, such as zoology, botany, geology, and astronomy. Since time does not allow students to take all of these basic natural science subjects during the twelve grades in primary and secondary schools, the museum comes to the rescue and aids in supplementing instruction along these lines. Museum exhibits are developed in the same way as natural science is taught in the classroom, i. e. the collections are subdivided so that zoological specimens are displayed together in one portion of the building, geological specimens in another, etc.

For more than fifty years field parties have been sent out from the Museum to search for fossils and incidental

THE STATE OF MANY WATERS

The above title may cause your mind to drift over the map of the forty-eight states in quest of the state having more miles of flowing streams than any other state in the Union. In the average classroom several of our northern states probably would be mentioned as deserving such a title. But undoubtedly few, if any, of the students will mention Nebraska as a competitor for this title. However, other state claims notwithstanding, Nebraska justly deserves and is eligible for the honor of having more miles of flowing streams than any other state. If someone disputes your statement, just refer them to any drainage map.

Begin with them at the northwestern corner of Nebraska in the area of Nebraska's most beautiful pine ridge country. There a number of small creeks such as Antelope, Squaw and Warbonnet take the uppermost tip. But a few miles away, the White River cuts the corner off of Nebraska as it drifts into South Dakota.

Beginning as a small stream, the Niobrara River commences its trip across the entire northern portion of the state, picking up small creeks on its path such as Pine Creek, Plum Creek and the Verdigre as it finally enters the Missouri, our biggest river which traverses the entire eastern edge of Nebraska.

The middle of the state is completely bisected by the Platte Rivers which are fed in western Nebraska by trout streams such as Sheep Creek, Spotted Tail Creek, and Nine-mile Creek, until it reaches central Nebraska where man has created thirty-one large reservoirs, a magnificent story in themselves. Flowing through eastern Nebraska, the Platte is further augmented by waters flowing from all of central Nebraska, the Elkhorn, Cedar and the Loup Rivers, all of them joining as they leave Nebraska via the Missouri River.

Southern Nebraska is by no means an arid area; for in the southwestern tip of the state the Frenchman, Willow and Medicine Creeks empty into the Republican River, which travels through two-thirds of the most southern part of Nebraska.

Mother Nature, in order not to neglect southeastern Nebraska, has given us the Big Blue, the Little Blue, Sand Creek, Turkey Creek and Beaver Creek as well as the Nemaha Rivers. All of which join hands to make Nebraska a state of many waters. Be proud of the many drainage systems throughout your state. And further, realize the recreational and economical possibilities of these drainage systems.

BRINGING NATURE INDOORS

natural history specimens, often exploring as many as 50,000 miles in a single season. This work, however, has ceased since 1942 because of the war. Chief among the early patrons who financed the expeditions were Charles H. Morrill and Hector Maiben.

THE LITTLE RED SCHOOL HOUSE FARMS A POND

Jimmy slammed his biology book shut a lot harder than he really intended, and "gosh, did Miss Jones and the kids ever jump." Well of course, Jimmy had to explain a bit after school was over. "Honest, Miss Jones, I didn't mean nothin' by it;" explained tearful Jimmy, "It was jist that it is so awful purty out, and I heard the leaves rustlin' in the wind outside, and I'm afraid, Miss Jones, that it jist made me sort of mad to be readin' about jelly-fish when it's so purty out. I didn't mean to do it on purpose, Miss Jones, really I didn't."

Thanks to Miss Jones' understanding, Jimmy was soon rattling the leaves louder than the wind itself; and he was whistling down the road taking in all the common sights he loved, the pheasant crouching low as it slipped into a thicket, the long imagination-teaser of ducks "headin' south," or perhaps he paused a moment to chatter back at a frisky squirrel interrupted in its winter hoarding activities. If Jimmy was late getting home, it was probably because he paused to dream a little too long albout the big frog h# saw on the bank of George Perkins' little pond down on the lower eighty.

Had Miss Jones been watching Jimmy at that time, she might have realized the true explanation for her students' lack of interest in nature study. It was that simple. No book alone could be substituted for the kind of nature study the children loved, just old-fashioned outdoors. Had Miss Jones turned further from our picture of Jimmy by the pond to the pond itself, she would have come face to face with as complete a field study unit as any biology text could devise. And more important yet, one that would not only hold the students' interest, but one that would voluntarily turn their attention back to their texts for reference. For what youngster wouldn't eagerly leaf through his nature study text to get the true story of the miraculous change that overcomes a tadpole when mother nature waves her magic wand and a frog emerges; if the student had just caught a live wriggling tadpole and placed it in a jar in the schoolroom for observation.

In smaller consolidated schools where finances limit the purchase of injected specimens for laboratory study, the ever-present frog is always available at the pond for use as a type animal in showing the students the anatomic structures of one of the lower forms having a back bone. From this study of watching the frog eggs develop into a tadpole and the tadpole to a frog itself, the average student needs little additional motivation to become an ardent student of nature.

The crayfish, and the snail are other inhabitants of the farm pond that will bear considerable interesting study on the part of the teacher and her students. Both forms may be brought to the schoolroom and observed by the class. A large battery jar, fruit jar or aquarium with a little sand and a few aquatic plants will serve as a comfortable home for these forms for some time.

If a hand lens or a microscope is available, the students will find a bountiful supply of lower organism available in the pond for observation. And if it is too late in the season, some of the pond water in a jar with a little sheep manure in the bottom will soon have the water foggy with minute one-celled organisms.

Students and teachers alike will find much material for botanical study in and around the pond; material that will easily stimulate the students' activities, if collected, pressed, mounted and named. If there is a distinct absence of plant life about or in the pond, the students' project activities can be stimulated materially by working on a planting project. Such a project would include the collecting of plants from other ponds or streams and the planting of them around the pond. Observation of their growth and development and identification of the various kinds of plants follows easily the planting project.

Miss Jones and her students, in their investigation of the lesser plant and animal forms, will not be found without some knowledge of the two most important forms as far as the sportsman is concerned. These forms are the fish and ducks, as well as the shore birds. The farm pond places within easy reach of the teacher many of the migratory waterfowl that she previously could show only on the printed page. And as many a sportsman knows, no matter how realistic teal may look in a book, the only way to really identify them is alive on the water as they feed and preen their feathers on some nearby pond.

The fish, while of distinct usefulness to the teacher for identification projects, can serve a most useful and practical purpose when used in connection with food and population studies. The students can easily develop a project on their pond to determine the effect of fertilization of the pond upon the fish. They can artificially develop overcrowded conditions in the pond and watch the effects on the fish. Such activities will not only develop a wholesome working relationship with the students and teacher and stimulate study and reference work, but will also develop and improve the pond itself for the benefit and beautification of the surrounding area.

Undoubtedly somewhere in this State, there is a teacher less fortunate than Miss Jones and her students; a teacher who has neither the farm pond nor the knowledge of what such a pond may foe. But turn not away disinterestedly, Miss Whoever-you-are, for wherever you are the odds are favorable that a luxurious farm pond can appear as if by magic from out some wind-blown canyon. In your class there are several youngsters living on farms where an eroded canyon, a forgotten marsh or a weedy swale can be developed into a beauty spot, not only useful to the student of nature study, but most desirable from the viewpoint of the farmer both from economical and recreational aspects.

Neither the teacher nor the farmer can be expected to visualize any given arid area as an ideal location for a pond surrounded by a bountiful growth of semiaquatic plants fading into a leaf-covered area of low shrubs so beneficial to game birds. But such lack of knowledge need not discourage the farmer or the teacher, for in the offices of the United States Soil Conservation Service at Lincoln, Nebraska, are trained men qualified and anxious to locate and assist in the development of just such ponds. There are still other qualified men ready to assist from the Conservation and Survey Department of the University of Nebraska and from the offices of the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission at Lincoln. By writing to any one of the three agencies listed above, preliminary information can be obtained on the farm pond picture. A man from one of these agencies will be glad to look over the area and determine what pond possibilities are present. If there is a Soil Conservation District established in your area, actual construction development may be obtained from this agency. Depressions may need to be deepened, dirt dams erected or small spillways constructed all according to the individual exigencies of the area to be developed.

Picture that long-eroded canyon on the Perkins' place. It "just ain't good for   Outdoor Nebraska—Winter, 1945 11 anything." The wind has blown all of the good soil out of it and has blown all the tumbling tumhle-weeds into it. But watch what happens when the Soil Conservation Division waves its knowing construction hand over the area. A dirt dam appears at the lower end of the canyon, stoned on one side to protect against wave action; up above, high crests are scraped out of the drainage area and grass waterways are planted where before drainage water carried the cream of the top soil with it. Water coursing down such grassy waterways will be filtered by the grass, the much desired washing soil remaining. The nearly clear water that emerges into the blocked canyon will not fill the would-be pond with silt before it is many years old. To the above recipe for farm happiness add a bountiful supply of aquatic plants, cattails, marsh grasses, willows and shrubs; and nature will blend the ingredients into a natural setting that will make the day of miracles seem ever at hand. Fish for such a newly developed area may be obtained from the State Game Commission, if the public may enjoy the pond. However, if the pond is private, fish may still be obtained from the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service in Minneapolis.

Perhaps your farm pond will grow from a drained marshy area instead of a canyon. A dam in the right place in this instance may restore your pond and develop a marsh area with far more productive results from fur-bearers than was ever realized from small grain plantings on such an area. Many a farmer has doubled the profit from a given area by forsaking crop plantings and harvesting instead, the muskrats resulting from a well-developed pond and marsh. Likewise, many a young farm boy has paid his way through school just from a little well-managed trapping on his dad's farm-pond marsh, following the same procedure as with his crops—trapping the surplus and leaving the remainder for seed stock the following year.

What a Utopia; a beauty spot for the family; a fishing and hunting spot for dad and the boys; more money in the family till from less erosion; a possible water supply for crops and cattle; some fur for profit; and now, last but very important, an ideal nature study area for family, teacher and students. It is a new means of motivating book learning by developing questions in the field that can he answered only by "looking it up." And still more important, such activities are conducive to the birth of a real outdoor youngster. And how well it is known that, for the most part, an outdoor boy is a good boy.

DO YOU OWN A FARM POND?

As a sequel to the above article, the editor would like to publish an actual description, with pictures, in the words of the owner of a Nebraska farm pond. Tell us how your pond came to be developed, how it was developed, and what dividends you have received from the use of this pond. The two or three best stories on actual farm ponds in operation in Nebraska will be published in this magazine.

"BUG'S"

What is it ? If it has wings, it might be a P-38. But if it has wings, three body regions, "feelers" and six legs, it is an insect ("Bug" to you). Can you imagine 660,000 kinds of insects? I can't! But don't worry. If you should hunt the State of Nebraska from end to end or from top to bottom, you would probably find only about 16,000 different kinds. Only! We won't just talk about them. We will don an old pair of overalls or slacks and shirt and take to the field. We'll go Snoopin' for Bugs.

Before starting we must check equipment. Don't forget the poison jar1 or the insect net. Oh yes, bring along a water net, too. We will go down by the old pond. Better take along a couple of extra empty bottles with lids. A few small "bottles with preserving (70%) alcohol wouldn't be amiss — I mean to preserve six legged insects. We may need paper sacks, pocket knife and small spade, too.

We're ready! We will head down toward the slough by way of the pasture. The season is a little late but by looking in the right places we will find plenty of material. First, notice that yucca plant (you may call it "soap weed" or "Spanish Bayonet"). See how the seed pods are full of holes? Moth larvae are given food and a place to live by the plant in return for their mothers' having pollinated the flower. Sometime look up' this story in an encyclopedia.

Just ahead by the path is some old cow dung. Turn it over. There are some termites or "white ants," really no relation to true ants. In the absence of wood or woodlike material they live in such places. There's an old plank along the fence. Let's see what is to be found under it. Don't be afraid of snakes! It is too cold for them now. What things are to be seen? A common cricket, brown ground beetles (take only a couple of these, because they are beneficial. They feed on other insects). Look at that large brown thing resembling a cricket. See the hump on its back? Its common name is "camel cricket." There a.re several spiders, too, but since they are arachnids, and not insects, we will forget them. Also those hundred and thousand legged worms belong to another class.

Now, over to that clump of weeds. Notice the "balls" on those dried "sticks." Pick one and open it. This one is empty, but you can see where a "worm" has lived, and this hole shows where the adult emerged. These are galls of goldenrod. Why is it incorrect to call these larvae "worms"? Because worms are lower forms of animals such as earthworms (fishworms), roundworms and flatworms. Hereafter we shall call young insects larvae. Keep your eyes open for similar galls on roses, oaks, hackberry leaves, willows, etc. Willow galls look like overgrown leaf buds.

Right here let's make a few sweepings in the grass and weeds with the insect net. Sweep back and forth, turning the net for each sweep so as to get all the insects on one side. Now, what do we have ? There is a "shield bug" or "stink bug" and you already know why it has such a name. There are beetles, flies, small bees, ants, grasshoppers, moths, and others. Put them in the poison bottle and we will add them to our lab collection.

What is that over on the fence? Just as I feared—a large hawk. Some misguided farmer has killed another of his friends. The band across the breast tells us it is a Swainson's Hawk. It hasn't been dead long; let's check through the feathers for parasites. Yes, here on the head are some. Bring a small bottle of alcohol. Someone look on the wing feathers. Here are a few lice—typical bird lice for this group of birds. On ducks, lice are larger, and of course, an entirely different kind. One man said they looked like young aligators.

Now let's go down the side of the corn field by the blue stem patch. Dig up a part of a clump and put it in a paper sack. We will study it in the lab.

What's this? A rabbit! Let's corner him at the fence. Good work! Now, bring another small bottle of alcohol and we will look for fleas and ticks. Yes, this poor rabbit has plenty of fleas. You say they look just like the fleas on your dog? We will look at some under the microscope. These fleas tend to stay with only one kind of host. For example, a rabbit flea couldn't live long on a dog, etc. Get those small ticks there in the rabbit's ear. They are known to transmit disease; and some fleas, too. We will have to study that subject another time.

Now, down to the pond. Who has the water net? You, with the bottles with lids, fill them about three-fourths full. Now let's see what we can find. When dipping for water life, work the net among water plants for one general type of biota; for another, examine mud dragged in from the bottom of the pond. What do you find in the first? A few wigglers (mosquito larvae and pupae), white and black bugs—these are true bugs. When they are in water they swim upside down — thus, the name "backswimmer." There are some dull colored bugs, water-boatmen. Beetles—we should get scavenger "beetles (whose habit is implied by the name), diving beetles, and whirligig beetles or "lucky bugs." I should call them "unlucky bugs" because if you catch a handful they impart a very disagreeable odor you will never forget. Now, let's drag in a net-full of mud. What do you see? At first, very little, until practically all the water drains out. Then, wiggling on top of the mud are little fish-like nymphs which are the young of Mayflies. There is a slower moving, large-bodied dragonfly nymph. Dragonflies are called "Snake Feeders" and "Devils Darning Needles" sometimes. See that red worm-like animal? It is a "bloodworm" and is the larva of a small fly or gnat. We will take all this material to the lab and start a natural aquarium. The mud will soon settle to the bottom and the water will be as clear as can be. No fish, please! You wouldn't cage the cat with the canary — unless you didn't want the canary. Don't forget some of those submerged plants—we need them to help balance the aquarium. Later, after the pond has frozen over we will break holes in the ice and see what we can collect. As long as it does not freeze solid, some living things will remain active.

Time is getting short so we must go back. On the next field trip we will go to the creek to look on and under stones in the swiftest part of the stream for stone fly nymphs, black fly larvae and pupae, more Mayfly nymphs and the interesting stone or log houses of caddis fly larvae. We will also split bark from old logs and hunt for large green ground beetles and long horned beetles, wood borin glarvae, etc. Did you know that insects sometimes live in water held in tree holes? Next time we should find some and look for more mosquito larvae and rat tailed larvae of certain crane flies. We have much more snoopin' to do.

But, back to the lab to take care of the specimens we have.

Did you get the cigar boxes and corrugated cardboard to fit it? Here are insect pins. Study the illustrations to learn how to use them. Each insect must have data on it such as place collected, date, and collector. Even those fleas and lice need the same data. Print it with pencil or India ink—then slip it right in the bottle. Place a small container of napthalene flakes in the box to keep out other insects which might destroy the collection. Moths and butterflies should be spread before being put in the box.

Oh yes. Where is the sack of grass? Let's put it in this old dishpan and break it up to see what might be there. Look at all those chinch bugs! They had settled in grass crowns for the winter. Some other things such as "lady bug,"   16 Outdoor Nebraska—Winter, 1945 tarnished plant bugs, aphids and gall wasps may also appear.

How can we ever find the right name for these specimens? There are several good books2 which are easy to understand and they give scientific names as well as common names when.there are such things. You can easily see how all insects cannot have common names—there would be too much duplication! Scientific names are interesting when they describe the animal; for instance Arthropoda—the phylum to which insects belong—means jointed legs. Hexapoda—the class of insects—means six legs. One grasshopper is called femurrubrum, and "as any fool can plainly see" (unquote, li'l Abner) the grasshopper has red femurs (legs).

Nebraska-Saskatchewan Duck Factory

The Nebraska-Saskatchewan Duck Factory is located at Bigstick Lake, about 20 miles north of the town of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. Further identification places it in the southwestern part of Saskatchewan, about 900 miles northwest of Omaha and approximately 650 miles north of Gordon, Nebraska.

The bed of Bigstick Lake covers 10,000 acres. Each normal spring only sufficient water comes down to put 12 to 18 inches of depth in the lake. This is attractive to ducks looking for nesting sites. Thousands of pairs of ducks build nests around the lake and get to work producing broods. Unfortunately, the lake usually dries up by mid-summer and all the ducklings perish!

A survey reveals the fact that a dam can be built across the narrow part of the lake to retain water at permanent depth on 1,000 acres. After this area has filled to a depth of five and one-half feet, the surplus water will go over the balance of the lake. Thus, in years of adequate run-off, the whole lake will be a breeding area. In other years, no matter how dry, the smaller area will guarantee deep, permanent water.

This permanent dam will be 2,500 feet long. The Nebraska- Saskatchewan Duck Factory in good years and bad will produce guaranteed annual crops of ducks in terms of thousands. It has been estimated that we can put some 35 ducks on the wing for every dollar spent. Total cost of the Nebraska-Saskatchewan Duck Factory, $12,500.00

Ducks Unlimited is operated by a Board of Trustees composed of nationally-known business men who serve without remuneration. A record of accomplishment unequalled in wildlife restoration has been set. But to insure the future of duck hunting, 1,800,000 acres more of safe nesting refuges are needed. Canada will donate the lands free.

Approximately 65 per cent of all ducks shot in Nebraska breed in southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta.

Total costs, $12,500.00, includes engineering surveys and design, ecological and management studies, construction—(a) earth and gravel dam 2,550 feet long, (b) concrete spillway and bridge, (c) eight (8) miles fence; head office expenses, stone cairn and contingencies.

Make checks payable to Ducks Unlimited and mail to your local committeeman, or to Dr. Herbert B. Kennedy, Chairman, Special State Committee, Fourth Floor, Insurance Bldg., Omaha 2, Nebraska.

GAME BIRD CAFETERIA

When the wind shrieks over the prairies and the snows are drifting deeply—do you think of the birds out in the storm? Most of the feathered bipeds and the furred quadrupeds find shelter from the rigors of the winter storms— somewhere, somehow. But many a bird and furred animal might have come through the winter had it had a little better chance for protection and a little more food.

Protection, particularly to the game birds, is offered by that group of plants made up of trees and shrubs. In the fall their leaves turn yellow, brown and crimson, and then fall off. They form a bedding on the ground, keeping it a little warmer. The woody branches of the shrubs, often associated with the lingering stems of tall, annual weeds, form a barrier to the wind and thus offer a cover to the birds during spells of severe weather. The value of such cover for sheltering wild birds is so important that much money is being spent to replant with woody plants unfarmed places on the farm, such as gullies, corners, and narrow strips of land.

A thicket, when the fruits are ripe is a free cafeteria to which the birds come and help themselves. Have you ever had the pleasure of watching them? And have you ever seen a berry stuck on a thorn of a shrub which bears no such berries, but was put there by some bird as a storage place for future use? Nature as a rule provides for the birds plentifully; but man's activity often interferes, and by his method of using the land, often thoughtlessly destroys the natural cafeterias of the birds. For a long time we have gone along by taking it for granted that somehow the birds would take care of themselves. Only recently have we come to the realization that we must mend our ways if we are to preserve game birds for generations of peoples yet to come. We need only remind ourselves that most of the song birds keep control on the insects, which by some are said to be man's chief competitors on this earth. The game birds not only furnish recreation, but in a sense are a real crop, and we should perpetuate this crop by using wisdom in maintaining it. To maintain our birds we must not be content only to manage what we have at this time, we must also restore that which we have already destroyed during the time when we didn't know much and thought less about wildlife.

In order to manage that which we have, and to restore that which we destroyed, we have to know something about those plants that furnish the food   Outdoor Nebraska—Winter, 1945 for the bird cafeterias. We must therefore know those that are most important for the birds. We must not only know them by sight, we must also know something about their life histories. How can we do this?

The first thing is to learn to recognize a plant and know the name it has received by common consent of those who study plants. How do we know the plants? Very much the same way as we know people. We know their characteristics; that is, are they large or small, and what is their shape and color ? Are they herbs, shrubs or trees? How does this plant grow; does it hug the ground or grow straight up ? What is the shape and size of the leaves, the shape and colors of the flowers? What kind of fruits does it bear; a plum, a kernel or berry? If berries; are they fleshy, leathery or hard?

The best way to become acquainted with the plants is, of course, to observe them. Step up closely and look at their details. Look at a bud in winter time, say of a cottonwood. Open one of the buds to see what's in it. Would you believe it—in that small bud is compressed, ready-made, a complete new branch, twig, leaves and flowers, which only wait for spring to burst the bud, expand, and turn green in color. In the spring also you surely will admire the chokecherries' lovely white flowers that match the white of the clouds and the blue of the Nebraska skies. Then watch closely during the summer how by and by the flowers turn into fleshy berries, the plants becoming free cafeteria for free folks in feathers.

To keep in orderly arrangement the things you learn, and to make sure of your new acquaintances, it becomes necessary to collect small plants, or parts of plants, such as twigs, leaves, and flowers or fruits! Dry these by pressing them between papers. An old discarded magazine will do. Put a plant, or parts of a plant, between two pages, then skip a few and put in another specimen. With each specimen should be a slip of paper to serve as a label, or this label may be written on the white margin of the page on which the plant specimen is inserted. The label is very important, and it should contain the following information. First, the name of the plant should be written on as soon as known; second, the kind of place where the plant grows such as gully, creek bank, etc., should be written down; third, the locality—that is, on whose farm or how far and in what direction from the school house or town was the plant found; fourth, the date when the plant specimen was collected should be noted; fifth, the name of the person who collected it should also be on the label. Any other helpful notes may, of course, be included. When the label and the notes have been added to the specimen, take an old board that about matches in size the old magazine with the plant specimens in it, put it on top of it and weigh it down with a rock or some books, or any other heavy object. You now have a plant press. If you take two boards and put the magazine with the specimens between them, you can move this plant press more easily about. The whole should be kept in a dry place for several days. The plants will have dried and become preserved.

You now have the beginning of a plant library, which may serve you to further study the plants themselves, or to use it for comparison and reference.

For this purpose you may leave the plant specimens in the magazine, provided that there is always a label with it. For any addition you may use another old magazine, and so on. But if you want to do a little more elaborate job, mount the plant specimens to a stiff sheet of notebook paper such as is used for drawings. For the mounting you may use glue; but the simplest, and yet most effective way, is to use strips of gummed paper. These strips are used in such a way and in such numbers, that it will hold all parts of the plant specimens to the paper. The lower right hand corner should be reserved for the label; that is, as the place where the pertinent information about the plant is printed on with every specimen. These sheets can then be collected into a notebook cover to make a book. Another effective way to study plants in the classroom would be to mount groups of berries or other fruit with some leaves on a cardboard, which can then be hung on the wall, where every pupil could daily observe the specimens as a help to associate the proper name with the proper kind of fruit. There are many other ways by which plants may be studied and much may be left to the ingenuity of the pupils themselves.

When representative specimens of the neighborhood plants are thus available for study, it is usually possible to give each the correct name by comparison with descriptions and illustrations in books and pamphlets which should be available at every school. Once the plants are known by their names they become acquaintances, and it is easy to talk about them and to observe them out of doors at all seasons and to discover the secrets of their life histories. What birds and other animals prefer what kinds of plants for food or for shelter? Which plants produce what kind of fruit and at what season? What kinds of plants grow naturally together ? In what kinds of surroundings does a certain plant grow ? Where should some be planted, and what kinds ? There will be no end of questions that will come up. Life around the home and in the field will appear more interesting and, therefore, more worth living.

Your Game Commission wants to help you in better understanding of the wildlife around us, tout you must make the start. Give your clear eyes, your healthy minds, and your warm hearts a chance to learn about wildlife, particularly about the plants; for without plant life there would be no animal life on this earth. So learn, not only for the good of wildlife, but above all to enrich your own life.

FISHING PREVIEW

The next issue of "Outdoor Nebraska," which should reach the subscribers the latter part of April, will be the annual big fishing issue. However, it may be well to mention at this time that, in spite of the drifting snow and biting wind, Nebraska's fishing season is now legal. Those that care to venture out on the ice are free to do so, if they have availed themselves of a 1945 fishing license.

The new year-round season just established by the Commission is a new and radical step in furnishing year-round recreation for the angler. The Commission, in studying the problems pertinent to the open season, feel that this procedure will become a trend in many states; and that, further, no good fish management procedures are being violated by such action. The year-round season will be watched closely and studied by Commission biologists to determine fishing pressures and similar related problems.

Few, if any, changes have been made in the actual regulations of last year. However, it will be necessary for an angler to decide immediately upon catching a fish whether or not he desires to keep it. Once it is on the stringer or in the bag, it cannot be returned to the water, even though the prospects for larger fish are immediately at hand. If the angler does not desire to keep the fish, he should wet his hands, remove the fish gently from the hook and return it to the water with as little injury as possible.

IS THERE A WILDLIFE CLUB IN YOUR COMMUNITY?

In order to stimulate interest and education in Nebraska's wildlife program, this Department is interested in stimulating the organization of conservation groups for young and old alike. If there is a conservation club in your school, an Izaak Walton League, Better Fishing Association or local county wildlife organization in your area; we will be more than glad to publish the activities of these local groups in this magazine. Show other organizations in the state your accomplishments by reporting quarterly to this publication.

CONSERVATION EDUCATION

In order to stimulate interest and appreciation of outdoor Nebraska and all of its possibilities, the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission is rapidly assuming the role of an educational institution in the development of its active educational program.

The Department is developing a number of unusual mounted exhibits which can be sent any place in the state for display. The duck exhibit, composed of most of the common species to be found sometime during the year in Nebraska, has been completed. This exhibit is unusual in its composition, as the mounts have been made permanent by attaching three-quarter mounts of the various birds to a solid backboard, which is in turn made up into folding cases for shipment. A similar type of exhibit is nearing completion showing the various kinds of fish which are native to Nebraska. Additional exhibits of this type on fur bearers and upland game birds will be made this year.

The Commission's display at the State Fair was enlarged this last year and further expansion is expected in displays other than the native fish display, which has become traditional among the State Fair displays. A few county fair exhibits were displayed this past year, and as additional men and materials are available, more county contacts are expected.

The Commission's publication, OUTDOOR NEBRASKA published quarterly and filled with stories of sporting interest and outdoor education, is sent without charge to all of the public and country schools in the state and additional copies are sent to all state libraries, Chambers of Commerce, and to all non-residents buying permits in this state the previous year.

The Commission, in conjunction with the Extension Division of the Agricultural College through the efforts of Mr. Frisbie, the director, has a 4H camp at Seward each year attended by young representatives from all over the state. At this camp, Department representatives instruct the young people on problems pertinent to fur, game birds, fish, trees and other related topics.

In spite of the loss of nearly half of the Department's employees, the Game Commission is carrying on an active public relations program. The office personnel can usually be found in the field two or three nights a week showing pictures or giving talks to wildlife groups, school groups and civic clubs. Moving pictures are often shown and various representatives give special talks in the various fields, all of interest to the average layman. The post-war plans of the Commission call for considerable expansion in this type of work.

In the establishment of its educational program the Commission realizes that it. is not primarily a youth education department. While the Commission can be active in instructing specialized classes or wildlife groups in wildlife conservation programs, the entire educational program is of such magnitude that every related department of state and federal governments will be needed to bring active conservation conscientiousness to the understanding of both old and young.

Much different from the old traditional methods of education are our streamlined educational programs of today. Subjects are now taught in the schools by units; and what could be more beneficial and necessary than a unit study project in every junior high school on conservation—conservation of soil, conservation of wildlife and certainly conservation of self. It is true that some good texts are used incorporating some of this material. Dr. G. E. Condra has accomplished a great deal in this respect and is leading the field in attempting to get this program started.

Conservation units on Nebraska, when properly introduced in our schools, will accomplish a great deal in making our youth outdoor conscious and Nebraska conscious. The Game Commission, in conjunction with the Soil Conservation Service, the Conservation and Survey Division, the University of Nebraska, the Izaak Walton League and the Wildlife Federation, is enlarging and developing an accelerated wildlife education program. But far more benefical results can be obtained by making such studies a part of every school cirriculum.

The outdoor boy and girl will find a new means of motivation in studying in school the things they love outdoors. The youth unacquainted with the pleasures and thought-stimulating studies of outdoor life will find a new field of endeavor and enjoyment in making his first acquaintance with outdoor Nebraska. And it is well remembered that an outdoor boy is a good boy.

EDUCATION PAYS

THE COYOTE