Wisconsin School of the Air; Afield with Ranger Mac; 20

The Wisconsin School of beer invites you to go a field where the Ranger Mac today boys and girls Ranger Magas going to review the journeys you've already taken and answer some of your questions. And now here is your guide for today's imaginary trip Ranger Mack. Hello girls and boys. I suppose that the beauty and wonders of nature are either man's preparation of more poems than most anything else. Once in a while train hitters take the pen in hand and express their thoughts and feelings in rhyme. The sixth grade trail hitters in the second ward school at better abode did this and on the occasion of my visit to a meeting of adults in that city they came in a body to present a chocolate art Valentine and a booklet of nature poems. They had written. It is always a great joy to meet with groups of traders and to start out to trepan today. Ranger Mack will read a couple of the shorter poems

poems. These are sixth graders. You understand children about 11 years old and the first is by trials caulk and nature is everywhere we see it in the woods we see it in the sky. And we see it in the water. As we go walking by. And there was no name attached to the next poem I will read. I think the author did not dare to make his name known. And nature is everywhere. We hear it when the docs say quack quack quack. And then we think of Ranger Mack. And this brings a smile to your face I know. Luann Wilcox gave me a suggestion for a little change in the greeting with which Ranger Max starts each trip afield she writes. Ranger Mack is Brighton again. He helps nature come our way. Every week we hear him say.

Boys and Girls be bright and gay. So we'll start our trip today with a suggestion from Lou AMD's poem. This is your day. Be thou bright and gay as we journey along the way. Our journey today takes us back over the trail. It is a sort of review that we're going to find out whether or not you were bright sharp listeners as well as gay youngsters on those trails. We have 23 questions listed in the manual and we hope you have looked them over in preparation for this broadcast and we may not be able to answer all of the questions because of the time limit but those we do not answer. We will leave our entail next week. When we talk about. Weeds as guardians of the soil. Now see how your answers tally with those of Ranger Mack.

The first question is what is the official state tree flower and bird of Wisconsin. I was a councilman became a state in 1848 100 years later in 1948 the school children of Wisconsin voted on the state tree as a part of their centennial celebration. Some of you older traders undoubtedly participated in that voting. The stronger maple known commonly as the hard maple or rock maple I received the largest number of boots schoolchildren selected by different counties took part in the whole legislative process of making their choice of a tree a law and they came to Madison by bus loads and representatives among the children spoke for their choice of a tree. So far as I know this was the first time children really engaged in the making of a law.

Over half a century ago school children selected the wood Violet as the state tree and the robin as the state bird. But the selections were never made official and never a law. So all these choices were included in the same law that made the sugar maple. The state tree so the sugar maple is a state tree the would violate the state flower and the robin of the state bird. It's a law now. Question number two is the Virginia creeper a centipede an insect a bird a plant or an amphibian. The word creeper is somewhat misleading. You might think it is an animal of some kind. It is a vine that twines up tree trunks and creeps over walls and bushes. It is called by many different names. Five leaf American Ivy. But the commonest name of

all is the woodbine. It is so common that I know you have seen it though you may never have known it as the Virginia creeper question number three. Do you know of any quadrupeds that are not animals. I do not and no doubt you would have puzzled over this question. They were mammals should have been in that question instead of animals in the reading of the proof of the manual. This mistake escaped us. So the question should read. Do you know of any quadrupeds that are not mammals quadrupeds you now is a four legged creature. Let's see. What about turtles. Are they are they have four legs and they are hatched from eggs. They are not mammals. And what

about frogs toads lizards and salamanders and crocodiles. So there are a few poorly get animals that are not mammals. A question number power. Now what Three Pines are native to Wisconsin. How can you tell them apart at the White Pine is one. It has five needles in a cluster. As many as fingers and thumb on a hand. The needles are three to five inches in length. Every little bluish green and very flexible. The red or Norway pine is another. It is called the red pyre. By lumbermen it has two needles in a cluster. Long needles four to six inches in length then heavier add than the white pine and pointed at the Jack plant is the

third native pine. It too has two needles to a cluster but they are short one and a half to two and a half inches in length they are flat and they lean away from each other as though they didn't like each other's company white red or Norway and Jack Pine are the Three Pines native to Wisconsin. Question number five. Is the ant lion related to Phyllis Phyllis. Leo Bemis Leo is the lion of the jungle the King of Beasts the ant lion is an insect or about three quarters of an inch long that traps ants by making a funnel shaped depression in the ground into which the ants fall. It is commonly called the doodle bug and is found everywhere in sandy

soils. Question number six. Were do you apply. Where do you find this to be true. The wound is healed before the operation is performed. We have two common examples and Ranger Mack has mentioned them in previous broadcasts. One. And a common one. A membrane grows across the place where the leaf is attached to the twig. And pushes the leaf off in the fall of the year air leaving the scar called the leaf scar. I saw the leaf leaf scar is an example of where the wound is healed before the operation is performed. And this is true of the deer antlers as well. Question number seven we will omit for the time being. Question number

eight Where does the bird that flaps its wings alternately in flying go for the winner. And the bird that flaps its wings alternately one wing up and the other wing down while flying. Is the chimney swifts. So called swift because of its ability to fly very rapidly. You watch these chimney swifts next summer and they return in May and see for yourself. The chimney sweep builds in chimneys and never touches the ground. In China the nests of this bird or a relative of this bird are used for food. At the winter home of the Swift was a secret for a long long time. But a few years ago it was discovered that its wonder home is in Peru. Question Number nine How

do spiders migrate in the fall of a balloon spiders. Young spiders they are travel by sending out threads of spider silk and which are caught by the currents of air. And off they go. If they make a good launching of course over here I am Dale. There are silken threads stretched from bush to bush are a common sight in the fall of the year. Question Number 10 what causes the greatest losses to our forests. Of course man with this lumbering operations and has been the greatest cause I suppose. But the natural cause the insects and diseases of trees. These cause greater losses to our porous than fire scientists and foresters are quite well agreed that this is

true. Question number 11 how do you think that the best way to get rid of leaves is to burn them. The best way to use leaves is to allow them to rot and become a part of the soil. That seems to be nature's plan. We are past developing a sense of humor it's this reason rotted leaves are called humus and we are developing a sense of humorous as our population increases. The leaves will be conserved more and more rather than simply burned in the old countries of the whale. It is a privilege to be able to gather leaves from forests for compost heaps. Well I think that will be all that we can answer this time. We will take up the rest of them next week. The rest of the questions will be answered when we talk about weeds as guardians of the soil.

Now I wish to make an important announcement. The conservation corners are being visited now and will be visited during the rest of this month February at the schools in those counties that cannot be visited during February I will be informed right away as had these well be visited in early March so all get your corners and log books in readiness as part of the visitor and have a good time when the visitor comes and we hope that the corners and log books have been a help to you. I am a joy to you this year. So all this closes our trip afield for the day. In the words of Luke Luann may you be bright and gay I tell again we meet along the way and may the Great Spirit put sunshine in your heart. Today and for evermore our.

Heep much the familiar Indian farewell brings us to the end of another trip a field where the Ranger mech he'll be back next week to guide you on another journey down the nature trail. This is the Wisconsin School of their.