Page:Bird-lore Vol 01.djvu/249

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Bird Study for Busy People
21

zontal lines start always at the same distance from the top of the page, the name "Downy Woodpecker" will always correspond with the first line, "Crow" with the second line, and so on, throughout the twelve months. As I add more varieties to the list, the folder, of course, becomes filled down to the bottom. I leave, however, a space of one and one-half inches, as I want to make a weather record at the foot of the column for each day. When this folder is thus filled, I leave a sufficient number of pages to go with it, then insert a second folder, and continue the list as before. My list of last year ran out to the fourth folder. The weather and the temperature are important factors to be reckoned with in bird observations. I think that the record at the bottom of the daily column can be most profitably kept by some sys- tem of symbols, of which a proper index should be written on the iirst page. For instance, I use Arabic numerals to indicate the weather, as — i. fair; 2. overcast; 3. cloudy; 4. light rain, etc., and Roman numerals to indicate the force of the wind, as — I. none; II. light: III. strong, etc. For instance, take this record — "H'f'd. 1-3 III. N. 28°-30°." This means that the record was made at Hartford, that the day was fair, later becoming cloudy, that there was a strong wind from the north, and that the lowest temperature was 28°, and the highest 30° above zero. DIAGRAM OF TOP AND BOTTOM OF SPECIMEN PAGE {Folder) i Pag^e) 2. JANUARY, 1900 MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY 3 THURSDAY 4 I. Downy Woodpecker. 1 , Z.H. 2. Crow. h.sev 3 Z H 3- Junco. I 5-6 CO. 1 I H'f'd. 3-t III. N.W H'f'd. II. S.E. -6°-i9° H'f'd. II. S.W. H'f'd. I rule my pages once a month, and, that once done, it rarely takes more than five minutes to make out the record of each day. It is easy to remember the new birds to be added to the list, while