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CHAPTER IV FRIENDS IN THE OUT OF DOORS How to Know tko Wild Thiogt All Kirls want to know the ways and things of Nature. The difficulty is to know where to begin. There are so many kinds of dowers, ferns, birds, trees, grasses, bugs, insects, fish, rocks, etc., that one is coitfused and hardly knows where to begin her search for knowledge. The trail is not so hard to find as it was a few years ago, for to- day there are plenty <A blazes <»i its trees and the footway is well worn and ( ' "ared of logs — that is to say, there are plenty of good handbooks, not to speak of fellow travellers, who help by pointing to the blase that perhi^ escaped our eye, mi are wearii^ tlw pathway smooth. Bui one must make a start, and it is well to gel a few general rules in mind. First, take one thing at a time. Second, "LocA; in the Ixwk." Have a simple but comprehensive guide b(X)k (if possible one that you can own) that tells in simple, clear language the main facts. Later, you wiU want to go into nuve sdentmc study. Third, make a record in a notebook of what you see and either make drawings or preserve specimens. Fourth, if you have a friend "who knows" get infonnaticm from her as to the specimen you have seen or have in your possession. The best way to begin, supposing you are alone, is with the flowers. They are so easy " to catch " and preserve. Get a goodhandbodc of flowers. Reed's is ibe smallest , simplest, and best for beginners (Dana's, Blanchan's, or Lounsbury's are also good ) and either a big scrap alb jm or, better, a 1 2 by i8 inch portfolio with twenty or thirty loose sheets of heavy white or gray paper to fit; also a tin case, any big tin will do; but you can buy a properly made one for about a dollar. Botanical enthusiasm is always at its height just when you find the first spring flower. Suf^XKe then, in March, jrou have found the liverleaf in its blue bloom. Take up one, leaf and flower; put it in your tin case; that will keep it perfectly fresh for many hours. At hwne, take a HT