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Show WINNERS OF ESSAYS 1 BIS ARE NMD The prizes recently offered by Dr. A S Condon for the best essays on birds written by Ogden h(gh school students, have been awarded. The first prize. $5 in cash, was won by Kleanor Gibson and the second one, a book of Dr Condon's pipems, by Douglas Brian. Both are Jknlor students. stu-dents. Another prize of $f was offered of-fered by a patron of the aehoo) who desired his name withheld from publication, publi-cation, for the best essay written by a second year student. This was won by Grace Jennings The student body and faculty of the school greatly appreciated the interest in-terest shown by the donors of the prizes in the school through giving the students a special incentive, not only to observe the habits of the I birds, but to write Intelligently of them The three winning essays are considered excellent by the English instructors at the school and those written by Miss Gibson and Mr. Brian f are here given: ESSAY ON THE TURTLE DOVE. (By DOUGLAS G BRIAN ) In this essay I will strive to make you see the beauty, innocence and usefulness of the turtle dove aa I tee them. If, after studying the lite of the bird, you cannot perceive that It is one of the most lnnocdpt and harmless of all living creatures, that Aery failure will prove that it is not the most vile. The turtle dove, more commonly called mourning dove, derives both Its names from the sounds it makes. As the bird files It makes a sound as if it were singing the word "turtle," hence the name "turtle dove. ' The other name, by which it is be6t known in Utah, is In my estimation, the most -I appropriate, because the dove does not fly a great deal and is most often heard "mourning" in some treetop. The mourning dove is a small bird, about the size of the robin dr the meadowlark. It's neck, although not long, is very slender. It has a small head and a very small pointed tail. The curve In its wing6 project out, 'I making it very broad across the (back. It has short legs and a short head but is, taken as a whole, a very graceful grace-ful creature. The mourning dove is of an 'even gray color, rather light About the neck and breast it Is sometimes almost al-most cream colored. Its feetl and beak are of brightest pink. Aside from these colors we see only the round, black, glistening eyes . Iet us watch the life of the-blrd , j as we se It every day. Although they build their nests in trees is a rule, we sometimes find nestaf on the ground In very barren places. They build a flat nest of fine sticks ! or straw and line it with mud When they do not nest In trees they often I choose a hollow spot In a rock or I simply scratch a place in the dirt. They live on grains and insects aa we shall see. Let us pretend to take a walk. We are In a place where there are many fieldB and trees and perhaps some low hills covered with dry grass. This is a typical home for these birds and we see them fint In a wheat field. Some ingenious farmers kill them because be-cause they eat a great deal of wheat. If they would investigate closely they would find that the birds eat only the wheat which has fallen to the ground The birds alio devour millions of grasshoppers A grasshopper that flies high in the air does not harm crops of any kind, and is usually found In dry' barren places. A grasshopper grasshop-per which cannot fly must confine his search for food to a much smaller territory than the other kind We, therefore, find them In fields and gardens. gar-dens. This is the kind of grasshopper grasshop-per that the doves eat Now as we walk through the field one of these birds filets from before us. beating its wings so fast as it flies that we hear them flop. We hear the "turlleing" sound of its voice until it is many rods away. We follow It to the grove to find its nest. There is no sign or motion mo-tion in the grove for the dove is a very quiet and unsociable bird. It Is like a great man; passive and calm exteriorlly, but ever diligent and active ac-tive within. As we enter the grovo we find the trees scattered and large. The sun beats down upon us through the spaces between them. All is still. Suddenly we hear that soft mourning tone of the dove. Wo cannot tell from whence It comes. The dove although not so artistic as the canary, has the most highly cultured cul-tured voice of all Utah birds. It has by far the widest contrast in tone color. As It flies it utter a tone as brilliant as the lark but, as it comes into a lofty grove, it seems to think lofty thoughts which it expresses and makes us feel by the most beautiful and melancholy of all bird songs. Finally we find the nest which contains con-tains one young bird. The dove lava two eggs, but when the season is bad they sometimes do not rear both birds. This young bird, unlike most young birds, 16 very beautiful. The robin and other young birds are usually very ugly because their short feathers stick out and make them look dull and unintelligent, but the mourning dove is smooth and slender. It 1b even more handsome than its mother. The dove iB the only true emblem of peace. As we watch the mother 'Bitting near the nest we Imagine a familiar picture of angels and a snow-white snow-white dove bringing a message of peace to the world. BIRDS AND FLOWERS. By ELEANOR GIBSON. Beauty is nature's ornament. Birds are endowed with soft plumage and melodious voices, plants are adorned with delicate buds and blossoms, while both birds and flowers decorate field and forest. Birds and flowers are essential to man's perfect happiness. happi-ness. The robin, chirping a cheery-note cheery-note to spring amid fragrant apple blossoms, fairly radiates his joy, and the sturdy little sparrows hopping about in the snow, nature's winter flowers, give the necessary touch of life to make complete the beauty of winter When cold winds herald the approach ap-proach of snow and scatter the few belated seeds, most birds are forced to seek comfort in a warmer clime because of the lack of sufficient food and shelter. In many cities small houses are provided for them. Son times these houses are attached to other buildings, often they are elevated ele-vated on high poles or hung In trees The woodpecker is the friend of many small birds, for he seldom uses his nest longer than one season and other birds, especially chickadees, find an Ideal winter home in his deserted de-serted lodging. The early spring, with its freshening freshen-ing showers and sweet perfume of violets, is first welcomed by the bluebird's blue-bird's Joyous song. The dainty canary ca-nary carols his chansonette to a narcissus nar-cissus of his own tint, and the harmonious har-monious strains of the thrush, mingled min-gled with the lyrical sweetness of white lilacs, permeate the emerald tinged air. The purple finch promptly prompt-ly announces the advent of spring and soon afterwards the phoebe bird has completed its mossy nest under the margin of the roof. Summer is the season attributed by nature to birds and flowers. Fragments Frag-ments of warbled delight and the al- luring fragrance of roses proclaim the dewy dawn. At vespertine the capricious little humming bird chants his monotonous note to yellow honeysuckle honey-suckle whose delicate and enticing odour inebriates the night. The mock ing bird, the lark of evening, wafts his varied serenade to twinkling starB, the flowers of the shadowy sky The bower birds of Australia have not only the exquisi-te colors of the flowers but use them to orna ment their homes. In many parks and gardens of the United States are found bird baths whose rainbow tint ed sprays reflect the summer loveliness loveli-ness of surrounding blossoms. The killdee, or kllldeer as it sometimes some-times chooses to call Itself, is a bird of very little originality. About the size of a sparrow, and having the color of the robin, it. like the meadowlark, mea-dowlark, makes its nest on the ground. This bird has one trait, however, how-ever, that Is not borrowed. If the killdee suspects harm to its nest or to the small birds, it runs before the supposed enemy, calling its name in an Imperious voice, and tempts the intruder to catch It, though always keeping at a safe distance in advance. ad-vance. When the home is out of danger dan-ger the killdee makes several confusing confus-ing circles and disappears. As autumnal days draw to a close the variety and species of birds, as of flowers, become fewer. During the migratory season thousands daily perish from fatigue. English lighthouses light-houses are equipped with resting places for the birds which are attracted at-tracted by the penetrating rays of the great lanterns. Many birds have ceased to migrate. The swallow now finds a comfortable nest in a disused cbimney or beneath sheltering eaves. Other birds, such as the bobolink, bluebird, and oriole, go south from necessity rather than desire Some of the most useful birds need forest shelter; the cuckoo, nightingale, and mocking bird nre compelled, every' autumn, to seek the seclusion of summer sum-mer groves. Poets have made many birds immortal. im-mortal. Solomon said, "For lo. the winter ie past, the rain Is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come." In appreciation of the lark Tennyson wrote: "Drowned lu yonder living blue The lark becomes a sightless song." and Shaqespeare: "Hark, hark, the lark at heaven's gate elngs." Lyly and Shelley also have poems in praise of the lark. Of the wood thrush Thoreau observed, "Whenever a man hears it, he is young, and nature na-ture is in her spring. Whenever he hears it, it is a new world and a free country, and the gates of heaven are not shut against him. It changes all hours to an eternal morning. It banishes ban-ishes all trlvlalness It reinstates me in my dominion, makes me the lord of creation, is chief musician of my court. This minstrel sings in a time, a heroic age, with which no event in the village can be contemporary.' Ben Johnson calls the nightingale: "The dear, glad angel of the spring." Colerlde and Keats have versed his song and Milton sang-"Sweet sang-"Sweet bird, that shunn'st the noise of folly. Most musical, most melancholy." Wordsworth described the cuekoo as, "At once far off, and near" Emerson refers to the bluebird as, "April's bird, Blue-coated, flying before from tree to tree " "The bluebird, shifting his light load of song From post to post along the cheerless cheer-less fence." In "Macbeth," Shakespeare says "This guest of summer. The temple-haunting martlet, does approve, By his loved manslonry, that the heaven's breath Swells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze, Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird Hath made his pendent bed and pro creaut cradle Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed, The air is delicate." Throughout the year but particularly particu-larly during the spring, birds are of Invaluable service to man; the rapacious seagull has a picturesque habit of following the plow, while the musical meadowlark is the guardian ot the sprouting field Birds are a national asset and one of the resources re-sources of the country. The American Amer-ican cuckoo cheers the sylvan silence with his loud, clear call, or quietly seeks his breakfast of canker-worms in a neighboring orchard The boast ful kingbird devours the stlngless bees of the hive, the drones; the bluejay and blackbird destroy grasshoppers, grass-hoppers, caterpillars, and injurious insects The swallow is the benefactor of city and country alike because he is a great fly catcher. These little harmonists are constant and true friends of man for they are the essence es-sence of usefulness and perfect joy. The melodies of birds, like the perfume per-fume and charm of flowers, enhance the beauty of life. |