Project Gutenberg's What Every Mother Should Know, by Margaret H. Sanger This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: What Every Mother Should Know or How Six Little Children Were Taught The Truth Author: Margaret H. Sanger Release Date: March 26, 2018 [EBook #56846] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHAT EVERY MOTHER SHOULD KNOW *** Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) WHAT EVERY MOTHER SHOULD KNOW MARGARET H. SANGER WHAT EVERY MOTHER SHOULD KNOW OR HOW SIX LITTLE CHILDREN WERE TAUGHT THE TRUTH BY MARGARET H. SANGER THE RABELAIS PRESS 27–29 New Bowery, New York 1914 44R Pinski-Massel Press To Stuart, my first born, whose first heart throb led me into the joyous complexities of motherhood. Dedicated January, 1911. PREFACE. The following articles were put into story form for the mother so as to enable her to make the truth and facts just as interesting to a child’s imagination as possible. The idea is that the child be taught the process of reproduction and absorb such knowledge without realizing he has received any “sex” instruction. M. H. S. CONTENTS PREFACE. INTRODUCTION. Chapter I. Mr. and Mrs. Buttercup, Their Home and Families. Chapter II. The Flowers. Chapter III. The Toads and Frogs. Chapter IV. The Birds and Their Families. Chapter V. The Birds and Their Families. Chapter VI. The Mammals and Their Children. Chapter VII. Man’s Development. Chapter VIII. Conclusion. INTRODUCTION. here is scarcely any subject which is of greater importance or of greater interest to parents than this subject of teaching children the truth about life and birth. Every parent knows that at one day their little boy or girl will have matured into the possessor of the powers of procreation, yet they fail to teach the child how to care for, or how to regard these powers they possess. Biologically speaking, these creative powers are the most important functions of the body, but they are the only functions of the human body which are utterly ignored by both parents and teachers. In order to perpetuate the species, nature has endowed all animals with sexual instinct, and man is the only animal who is ashamed of this instinct. Man is the only animal who voluntarily limits his offspring, though he continues in his sexual relation. Man, and man alone, is the only animal who is subject to disease directly inimical to the integrity of the organs of reproduction. So, with this last assertion before our eyes, we parents cannot help but see that the danger signal is out. It is there and shows itself in the death list, in statistics, in the hospitals, where thousands of innocent girls and women are being operated upon. In fact, the danger signal is everywhere about us, if we could but understand what it really is. In the public schools all over this country there is a general cry for help. Teachers are calling out for assistance to help them check the degrading and immoral atmosphere which is pervading the school rooms today. The words and language of the children (of all ages) found whispering together, the writings in the notes and on the walls of the buildings, all tend to show childrens’ thoughts. And in these actions the teacher sees the danger signal. She realizes this is the first awful step, and not knowing how to cope with these conditions, she calls for help. The time comes to every mother when she first hears her child say: “When I get big and have a little girl I’ll, etc.”—showing that the natural average child takes it as a matter of course that at some future time he or she will have children, too. Shortly after this, questions are likely to begin, as when the parents speak of things they did, or places they went to either before marriage or early after, and the child asks: “What did I do, father?” “Was I there, too, mother?” Then begins the mystery. And the lies told by the parents in answer to these simple questions are shameful to hear. Father and mother smile slyly at each other and reply: “Oh, no, dearie, you were not there.” “Where was I, then?” the child insists. Another sly look passes between the parents and the lies begin. “You were in heaven,” or “among the flowers, etc.” “How did I get HERE, then?” continues the small questioner, who is in quest of information concerning THE most important subject in the child world, the “I.” Then of course, the reply comes that the stork or the angels, or oftimes the doctor brought him. However, any answer will do which will delude the child’s mind and keep him, as the parents say, “innocent.” Now let us see what happens. This little child is beginning to think. He has received brand new information, something fully as wonderful and mysterious as Santa Claus, and he loves to think about it and talk about it, too. He goes again to mother (father is not always around) and besieges her with questions, and she all in ignorance of the harm she is doing him, becomes so entangled in this mesh of lies that she becomes cross, or impatient, and stops his eager questions by sending him out to play to divert his attention to some other subject. But his attention is not long diverted before he returns to this subject, and if his walk is taken with an aunt or nurse he continues to ask questions, and to his even greater surprise, the aunt or nurse, not knowing what the parent has told him, tells him what she thinks. This will very likely be an entirely different story from that his parents told him, and so he begins to realize that there is some secrecy, which no one will explain, and he becomes determined to find out the meaning of it all. By the time this little fellow is one year in school he knows all about who brought him from “heaven” and how the stork came, etc. He may have been most carefully reared in the little things which help to make him thoughtful and considerate of others; he may have been trained in every way to make him upright, honest and truthful, but the vile words with which this information thus received by him is clothed, the base and foul idea of love and marriage, the distorted view of the creative power which he receives, cannot help but stunt and deform his mind and leave his conception of the beauty of birth and love forever scarred. If, on the other hand, the child had been told the truth by his parents and had the reasons explained to him for not talking to other children on this subject; if he had had impressed on him what a trust was his and how beautiful a gift to take care of, he would have been satisfied and his curiosity would have ceased. There are excellent parents who pride themselves and boast of never promising their child anything from a toy to a spanking without keeping the promise, but who find themselves most embarrassed and 1 2 3 4 5 confused when it comes to speaking about the facts of birth. This attitude of mind comes from several reasons. One is that there are parents, good, faithful and loving, who do not know the dangers and results of street instruction, who think they are keeping the child “pure and innocent” and prefer to give the child the impression of “spiritual” birth, as implied in the answer “The angels brought you from heaven.” Again, there are parents who know the value of home instruction, but know not how to tell them, and it is for these mothers that the following articles are written. The best method is to begin to teach the little child when it is very young. At 4 years of age the first lessons of the flowers could be begun. Keep it up. Then a little later, say six months, teach about the fish or frogs. Then the next year the life of the birds should be taught, and by the sixth year the child will be ready for the mammals and humans. In case he asks questions before he has learned of the mammals, refer him back to the flowers and you will find an answer. Most children are safe from being polluted in thought after the study of the flowers, but as the child’s mind keeps growing and developing, his questions in order to be answered truthfully demand that he be taught the higher stages of development. Mothers, keep in mind, the beauty and wonder of it all, and as you proceed in the study of the mechanism of the reproductive organs of human beings you cannot but impress upon the child the beauty and wonder of love. Help the child to realize the sacred trust of his organs, the danger in misusing them. Help him to realize the physical and moral development which awaits him in parenthood, but above all keep him close to you in confidence through the truth. My object is to help all mothers who wish to give their children the right conception of the beautiful truths of reproduction, and we shall begin our first lessons “The Flowers—Mr. and Mrs. Buttercup, their home and their family.” 6 Chapter I. Mr. and Mrs. Buttercup, Their Home and Families. ittle 5-year-old Bobby sat playing in the sand pile one lovely afternoon in May, and, judging by the glimpses his mother had of him through the open door of their cottage, his mind was to all appearances intent on making a sand fish perfect. For in and out the damp sand was thrown from the pile to the fish mold many times, until at last being perfect, at least to his satisfaction, he got up and ran to find his mother, who was busy within the small two-room shack where they were living for the summer. He caught hold of her apron to attract her attention, and said: “Mother, where did I come from?” Needless to say, his mother was greatly surprised at this question, just at that time, for she had not the faintest idea that his thoughts were on anything but the perfection of that sand fish. However, she quickly recovered from her surprise and taking his little face between her hands, said: “Bobby, dear, that is the most wonderful secret in all the world, and if you are quite sure you can keep this secret and only talk about it to father and mother, I’ll tell you all about it.” The curly head bobbed up and down in answer to this and as his eyes grew big and bright, he answered: “Do tell me the secret mother, I’ll never tell.” Then she said: “Let me ask you a question, dear. Do you know where the baby flowers come from? Or the baby birds or chickens or all the baby creatures in the world?” “No, no,” he answered simply, but excitedly. Then she told him that as soon as the dishes were put away, she would take him for a walk in the woods where the baby flowers come from, where the mother kept them when they were baby seeds and also tell him how the father and mother flower gave life to the little baby seeds, which afterward grew into the lovely flowers we see all about us. She would show him that he was once a little seed like the flower seed and kept in a soft little nest in the same way. Bobby’s mother now regretted that she had not begun earlier to tell this story of the flower to Bobby. For she realized that had she done this then, now when he had reached the stage of development where he was curious about his own being, she could at once have taken up the story of his own creation, and, of course, referred back to the story of the creation of the lower species. This would have simplified matters greatly. However, she decided it could never be too late and the easiest and quickest way even now, was to begin with the flowers. It now occurred to Bobby’s mother that to teach her child alone the truths of Nature would be a most fruitless task; for in playing with his companions, they would undo all her work unless they, too, were taught the truths, and in the same way. She consequently set about gathering in the children of the neighborhood with whom Bobby played. She explained to the mothers what she was about to do. Most of them strongly objected to their boys learning these things which they considered of interest only to grown-ups. But five of the mothers consented, and seemed delighted to have their children taught the truths in this most beautiful and interesting manner. Accordingly, she took five little children, together with her own, ranging in ages from five to six and one- half years, and started in the woods to hunt for the common wild flowers. Soon they were scrambling over boulders and fallen trees in search of mountain pinks, violets, buttercups, anemones, etc., calling and shouting to each other at each new find, their faces bright and happy with the glow of health. It was a picture never to be forgotten; and as they gathered around Bobby’s mother, who was seated on a moss covered, fallen tree, they received their first lesson. As the buttercup was a little early—those on this particular outing being the first ones found of the season—they naturally made it the most popular flower; and so it became logically the first family to be studied. They were told that the whole buttercup, as they held it, was the Buttercup House, whose color was yellow, and that inside the house, within the petals, was the Buttercup Family. “Is there a father?” asked one; “and a mother?” asked another. “Yes, indeed; there must be a father and mother if there are to be any seeds,” was the reply. Then they were told that all forms of plant life have but one object and that object is to reproduce their kind—“to make more flowers.” They were told that the flowers have reproductive organs—“parts that make more flowers”—called pistils and stamens. A complete flower: st, stamen; pi, pistil; pe, petal; s, sepal; ca, calyx; c, sorolia. After Bergen. 7 8 9 10 11 Pistil. sti, stigma; sty, style; ov, ovule. After Bergen. The pistils were called the “mothers” because at the bottom of the thin tube are the ovules or seeds. The pistils were examined carefully and the very top or stigma was found to be very sticky. “Why?” asked the children. But they were told they must wait and find out about the father before they found out why this part of the mother was sticky. Now attention was again called to the seeds lying within the pistil of mother, and the fact that they were not developed yet. “Why?” Again we must wait to learn something about the father. Now we come to the stamen, or “father.” This is a slender thread-like fibre which has at its ends a little case or sac which contains a very fine powder-like substance, called the pollen. In most of the flowers there are several stamens and one pistil; but in the buttercup there were several of each—so that the Buttercup House contained several families, the children were told. Now to come back to the fathers, or stamens, and the tiny sacs containing the pollen. This pollen is a very important part of the growing of all flowers. The children were asked to name some of the flowers which they knew that had this powder on them. Answer came in the name of golden rod, wild rose, cherry blossom and many others. Now it was explained that this pollen from the stamen, or father, must get into the pistil or mother, and reach the ovules or seeds, or the seeds cannot grow and develop into new plants. This union of the pollen with the ovules we called “mating” or “to mate.” And as this process of developing the seeds is the one object of plant life, we shall see how they go about accomplishing this object. 12 13 14 Chapter II. The Flowers. e learned that that Buttercup family lived within the petals of the Buttercup House. And we learned that the pollen from the stamen, or father, must reach the pistil, or mother, before the little eggs or seeds contained in the mother can begin to grow and develop into new plants. But the flower cannot move about as can animals, so they must depend on insects and outsiders to bring the pollen into the little nest where the eggs are. But unless there is some object attracting insects, bees, moths and butterflies, etc., to visit the flowers, they would not come to them, so the flowers have many attractions, such as their color and their odor. But the most important, and one which is sweet is the little bag of nectar or honey contained in many flowers which all insects love and will go far to get. When the insect visits the father, it rubs against his pollen, the pollen sticks to his head or legs. Then as he visits the mother, if the stigma (which is the top of the pistil, or mother) is ready for the pollen, it shows this by becoming moist, and sometimes sticky. Then the pollen clings to the stigma, and down it goes through its tiny tube, to the little nest of ovules, or seeds, where it mates and at once causes the seeds to become alive. Then they grow and grow until their time comes to burst forth and develop new plants themselves. Now, it is also important that the little visitors who come for the nectar, or honey, should fly from flower to flower and not crawl, because in doing so the pollen would drop off and never reach the mother flower, who is anxiously awaiting this important substance, so that the little seeds, or babies, may begin to grow. Consequently they have many ways of keeping out the crawling insects. Mrs. Buttercup has a very hairy stem, which makes a very hard journey for Mrs. Ant and others to come into the Buttercup house for a little sip of honey. She often starts there, but gets so tired out that she gives up the trip and returns to her family without any honey for them. This plan of growing a hairy stem is only one of the interesting ways the flowers have of keeping out the insects who cannot help them carry out the one object for which they exist—to make more flowers. Some of the flowers have a little trap door to their sac of honey, which only the weight of the bee can open. Others keep their nectar in long tubes, so that only bees with long tongues can reach it. An example of this is in the Orchid of Madagascar, which has a nectar tube eleven inches long, and depends upon one certain kind of moth for its existence. It is related that when Darwin was confronted with the evidence of this flower as against one of his theories he insisted that such an insect must live—even before it had been discovered! Again, other flowers keep their petals closed, and the petals must be forced apart in order to get the honey by a strong bumblebee. The flowers that are fertilized by the insects are called “insect loving.” Those that are fertilized by the wind are called “wind loving,” etc. The buttercup was thought not to need the insects to carry its pollen to the stigma—it was for some time thought to be what is called self-fertilizing. But the discovery of the small sac of nectar shows that it must have a purpose, and that purpose to attract insects to bring pollen from other father flowers to fertilize the tiny seeds. The stigma is not always ready to accept the pollen, but when it is ready it becomes moist, and in some flowers sticky, which shows it is in condition to accept the pollen or is ready to mate and that the seeds are ready for their development. This condition often lasts only a few hours, but sometimes a few days. The boys had now been taught and had seen how the pollen reaches the baby seeds. They had been taught the importance of the pollen for the growth of the seeds. They had seen that after the pollen reaches the seeds, that they are given new life, that they remain right in their little nest and are nourished by the pistil or mother flower, until they are full grown or matured. Now as this process is the whole object of the individual plant, what happens then? The boys were shown that as soon as the seeds begin to grow, the petals, on the mother flower, begin to wither, and it seemed as if the flower gave of its beauty, form and youth in order that the baby seeds should grow and mature. The boys were then taught that the plant depends on the earth and air for its nourishment, and as the various flowers have various ways of keeping the crawling insects out of their honey sac, so have they different ways of spreading or scattering their seeds after they have matured. If all the seeds of all plants fell right down near the parent plant there might not be nourishment enough to provide all the seeds with food. So again the outsiders assist them as they did in carrying the pollen. This time it is the wind which does much to assist them in this work. The birds, too, eat of the seeds and drop some of them on other ground. The wind serves the milkweed and dandelion; the birds help the fruits, berries, and the “burrs,” help themselves by catching on the clothing of passersby, or the fur and hair of animals. Then there are those seeds which are in pods—sweetpeas, beans, peas, etc. Some of these dry and curl up, and as this is done, it throws the seeds in various places. Then there are those seeds which are in burrs, nuts, chestnuts, etc., which also burst open at a certain time, some of them explode, and this process scatters the seed over an area of several yards. But the wind seems to be the most important messenger in helping the flowers scatter their seeds. The boys were also taught that the plants breathe and need care; that their struggle for existence is intense. They are also taught of the beautiful development of the flower under cultivation, and Mrs. 15 16 17 18 19 Buttercup and Mrs. Daisy were both taken from the field and cultivated, given plenty of light, water and the proper soil, best suited to the needs of each, and the results were wonderful. The boys each were given small gardens of wild flowers, which they cared for themselves, and the following year they each had small vegetable gardens. Every flower had a life story, they were told, and each a different story—interesting, intense and true. Bobby’s mother found that the boys absorbed this information readily and very quickly. Although they studied the flowers for an entire year, they also studied the frogs and birds, together with the flowers. The mammals and humans were taken up during the winter. They were also told that every baby seed continued this life of producing more flowers, that every girl was like the mother flower who had the little seeds hidden within her ever since she was born, while every boy is like the father flower and has the sac of pollen like him. That the seeds are hidden way back in the abdomen and when she grows big enough the seeds will grow also and she too may be a mother of little boys and girls. That the pollen in the boy is kept in the scrotum until he grows up big and strong, when it too will be ready to add life to little seeds and then become the father of strong boys and girls. On a later occasion when Bobby was taking his bath, he felt greater freedom now to ask all kinds of questions. He pointed to the umbilicus and asked his mother what that was for. He was told that that was the navel, so called, and it was where the cord had been which had tied him to mother when he was a little seed, and through which he had received all his air, food and drink. This caused great surprise, so much so that upon the first occasion in talking with the boys he gave this information in his own way, which led one to understand all boys were interested and curious about this depression in the abdomen. This information had a most marvelous effect in establishing the truth in their minds; it seemed as if they needed proof and here, indeed, it was. Much more time could have been spent on the flowers, but once the idea is given that each child is like the flowers, and that the flowers are like people, the rest is simple. The frogs then took their attention, but never wholly, for on every occasion when a new flower appeared, it was examined as to its color and possibilities of family rearing. 20 21 Chapter III. The Toads and Frogs. he next order of life to study should have been the fishes, but as Bobby’s mother upon investigation found that the nearest stream which contained fishes was five miles away, she decided to go on to the next highest order, the frogs, and point out, as she went, the difference in the two. Of course, there was no difficulty in getting toads, but just where to obtain and how to keep frogs puzzled the community for a few days, until at last it was decided first to make a pond for the frogs to live in, and then go to the nearby ponds and capture some. They were especially fortunate in finding in their locality what at one time had been a reservoir, which had a pipe leading into it from a nearby spring, and another pipe leading out of it into a nearby stream. That the pipe connecting the reservoir with the stream, it was found, could be corked, and in a few days there appeared a delightful pond of clear, clean and fresh water. Their delight knew no restraint when the afternoon came for them to go in search of some occupants for this nice new home. Accordingly, they started out a little late in the afternoon, with pails in their hands, and eager, expectant and happy faces. As they came within sight of the pond, they need search no further for frogs, for the air was filled with sounds—queer, croaking, unmusical sounds, but unmistakably sounds of the joy of the existence of frogs. As they came nearer, there was one gulp—“Chu-u-ug”—after another, one splash after another. Then silence reigned supreme and not a sound could be heard. The youngsters entered into the spirit of the hunt and scattered about the place. Some sat silently on logs or stones waiting patiently for a frog to appear on the edge of the pond; others crouched near the water waiting, with pails in hands, ready to catch a frog the moment he should appear. It was great fun catching them, for no sooner was the word passed that a frog had been captured, when, lo! he was gone. It was not long, however, before the little procession was marching homeward with frogs a-plenty. This new pond made a fine place for them to live in, and they thrived and grew. For a few days the children made a daily excursion to the pond upon the hill, and brought more frogs to the new home; they brought frogs’ eggs, too, which they carried carefully in their pails. The eggs were watched, and each day saw a change, so that within a week the pond was swarming with tiny tadpoles or “polly-wogs,” as the children called them. These, too, they carefully observed while they fed them, and as the tiny legs and feet developed, while the tail became absorbed and disappeared—they were told that now the tadpole had changed into a frog and needed air. Then stones were placed into the pond, so large that their surfaces protruded from the water, and upon these the baby frogs hopped and croaked their thanks. The tadpole can be kept in a tadpole state a long time if he is not properly nourished. Also, if his tail is bitten off by an enemy it will grow again. The toads were found to be more interesting, because they did more actual service to mankind. The children were told that toads live on land almost all of the time, only going to the water to lay their eggs; that they feed on insects from the garden, such as the grub, cut worm, slug, caterpillar, worms, etc. Anything alive he will eat. The toad is, therefore, a great help to the farmer, and no little boy would ever harm a toad if he but understood what a helpful creature he is in the garden. The frog labors under many disadvantages, as well as having many enemies. The first great disadvantage is that he is neither a water creature, like the fish, nor a land creature like the reptile; so that his struggle for existence is very hard. Should he decide to leave one pond, where the enemy is overwhelming, his only chance is to start on a rainy day to discover a new home for himself, and if he has the good fortune to find one before the sun comes out and dries things up, he is safe. At first the children showed a dislike to touch the toad on account of getting warts, but they soon learned that the fluid which the toad expels when he is picked up suddenly is harmless—and produced no warts —but there is a liquid which exudes from the toad when he is in severe pain (his means of self-defense) that burns the mucous membrane and causes stinging pain. Animals, generally speaking, are aware of this fact, and if you watch a dog play with or tease a toad, you will see that he does not bite him, but simply puts his paw on him. The skunk, too, is most careful, and rolls the toad on the grass to wipe off this caustic fluid. Toads during the process of development shed their outer skins every four or five weeks. Adult toads shed theirs about four times a year. This skin is shed in one piece, much as a man removes his shirt, and is then swallowed. The tongue of a toad is fastened in front of his mouth, which helps greatly to catch his food, as he shoots his tongue out and seizes it. He does not drink like other creatures, but absorbs water through the pores of his skin. If kept in a dry place for even a few days, he will grow thin and die; but if a toad has proper environment he will live to be very old. Toads do not breed, or produce their kind, until they are 3 or 4 years old. When at this age Miss Toad, or Frog, awakens from her long winter’s sleep, she feels hungry, and glad, perhaps, that she has lived 22 23 24 25 26 through the winter, for she feels life within her. Undoubtedly she is glad and happy to be awake, and off she goes to search for food and friends. Perhaps she finds Mr. Toad, who, too, feels life stirring within him; he also feels the joy of spring, so together they go to the breeding pond. Like Mrs. Buttercup, Mrs. Toad has within her body a little nest where little seeds or eggs have been kept and have been growing, and now that the time has come when they need awakening to a new life, they need life from the Father Frog just as the buttercup needed pollen from the stamen. Mr. Toad (or Frog), too, is stirred by this new and wonderful life giving desire within him—this desire to mate—and when Mrs. Toad (or Frog) feels the eggs are to be expelled, he comes very close to her, and in order to fertilize every egg before it goes into the water, he holds her fast behind the arm, and as they are expelled he pours over them his life giving fluid, which enters every tiny egg and gives it life—a new life. In a few days the eggs begin to grow; they are all incased in a colorless, transparent jellylike substance, which serves as food for the tadpole while forming, and also for protection. They are spherical in shape, and in ten days the pond will swarm with tiny tadpoles. Mrs. Frog lays between 500 and 1,000 eggs at one time; Mrs. Fish, however, is still more prolific, for she lays 1,000,000 eggs. Mrs. Fish lays her eggs in the water. She cleans a place by blowing all rubbish away with her fins, and there she deposits her eggs. Many of these float away before they can be fertilized by Mr. Fish. Impress the child with the knowledge that here is one of nature’s earliest signs of motion. That the flowers could not move about to seek their mates, but the fishes, frogs and all higher forms of life do this, and are more particular as they ascend the scale of life. Thus, the children were taught that the higher in the scale of development living creatures go, the greater care must be given them. Not only to the undeveloped seed within the mother’s body, but also to the egg after it has passed from her to the nest, for as creatures develop and ascend the scale, their eggs and offspring become fewer. And emphasis was laid on the care Mr. Frog took to fertilize the egg BEFORE it went into the water—one step higher than Mr. Fish. There is no doubt that the words “cold-blooded,” as applied to frogs and toads, hit the mark, for there is not the slightest affection or sympathy shown or felt for their own kind. They give no care or concern to the eggs after they are deposited, and the “polly-wog” has to depend on himself. Nature seems to have given them but one instinct relative to their kind, and that is the one blind impulse or instinct of reproduction. Early in the summer months, the frog orchestra seems well tuned, but as the cold days come on the toads crawl into a hole, making it as they go, while the frogs go into the mud to sleep through the winter, out of reach of frost and snow, where they lie dormant until the spring air shall again inspire them with the joy of living. 27 28 Chapter IV. The Birds and Their Families. he next step to be taken was the study of the birds. Everywhere could be seen father and mother birds busy making their house for the babes, which were soon to come to live with them. Great fun it was to hunt for nests and count the number each one discovered. First, right in Bobby’s yard was a young horse chestnut tree, and here in this tree Mr. and Mrs. Thrush had already built their nest, or house, and were even now waiting for the first egg to come. Again the children were told that Mrs. Bird was more active and more intelligent than Mrs. Frog or Toad; that altogether she was a higher creature than either the flower, the fish or the frog; that all father birds and all father creatures on up the scale of development use greater care to fertilize the egg than either Mr. Buttercup, Mr. Fish, Mr. Toad or Mr. Frog. For, instead of fertilizing it in the water, or with the help of the insects or wind, the egg of the higher creatures is fertilized while still in the mother’s body. Just like the flowers, Mrs. Bird has an ovary, where the little seeds or eggs are kept. This ovary is attached to a tiny tube, and this tube has no separate opening directly out of the body, but runs into the intestine very close to the outer opening of the body, where the intestines throw off the waste food. Now, these little eggs have been within the Mother Bird’s body always, ever since she herself came out of the egg, and they have been growing slowly all the time until a time comes when, like the stigma of the pistil (which at a certain time is ripe for fertilization and becomes moist and sticky), they, too, are ripe for fertilization. That this time has arrived is shown by many outward signs—such as beautiful plumage and charming songs. Especially in the male bird does this show itself. His whole nature seems bubbling over with the desire to mate and the knowledge that at last he, too, has developed. For though there are no eggs within his body, there is something else there just as important to the creating of new little birds, and he feels the time has come when this fertilizing substance is ready to do its work. His color becomes bright, even brilliant, and his voice becomes enchanting. Thus he tells the world of this glorious happiness. This period is called the mating season—the time when both father and mother birds awaken to the desire of building their nest and creating offspring. The egg has become as developed as Mrs. Bird alone can make it. For, like the flower seed, the fish and frog egg, it needs the fertilizing substance from the father bird to complete its development. As has been said before, the father bird knows that there are so few eggs that he and Mrs. Bird cannot afford to lose even one, so great, very great care must be taken to fertilize every egg. There is an instinct in all creatures implanted there for millions of years to preserve or perpetuate their species, and this instinct shows itself when the father creature, like the father bird, places himself in such a position that the fertilizing fluid can get into the mother’s body as near as possible to the undeveloped eggs. And as every atom of this substance is alive, it moves on, on and on, until it reaches the egg, where it mingles with it and the two different substances have become one. Now after the two substances have mingled, the egg passes down the little tube on through the opening out of the body into the nest. While it is passing through the tube, however, it accumulates a food substance called the “white” of the egg. This is not the living part of the egg, but simply food just as the frog eggs were incased in a soft substance, which served as food for the tadpole—so in the yolk, is the new baby bird, incased within the “white” of the egg. At the bottom of the tube, through which the egg passes to its opening, is a fluid which also incases the whole egg and hardens into a shell, and it is then ready to go into the little nest. After the fertilization takes place the egg is soon ready to be laid, and so the nest must be ready, soft and cozy. And this is what Mrs. Thrush was now waiting for in the nest she and Mr. Thrush had built in the horse chestnut tree. But even this was not all. For, though the eggs were here, the new little birds were not yet here. And again it was shown that while the frogs and toads left the eggs in the water to care for themselves, Mr. and Mrs. Bird do not and can not do this. The eggs must be kept warm almost constantly, and so Mrs. Bird gathers them close to her warm body and sits on them day after day, until they are ready to burst the shell open, and come out—the real new birds. 29 30 31 32