Rural, School Leaflet. 



971 



to the branch and seeds sprinkled on the shelf. It will not be long 

 before there are frequent visitors. 



6. The boys should always be encouraged to lay aside the sling-shot 

 and gun and take up the use of note books and field glass. 



7. Children should be taught the necessity for the proper care of cats, 

 for stray or ill-fed cats are the greatest enemies our birds have to fear. 

 John Burroughs says that cats probably destroy more birds than all 



/^uii C<^cut'f vuerfer. 



Fig. y^.—]unco 



other animals combined. It has been estimated that in Massachusetts 

 alone, a minimum of seven hundred thousand birds are killed annually 

 by cats. 



8. Reference books should be available to the teacher and older chil- 

 dren. Either of the two following books would be extremely valuable: 



Birds in their Relation to Man, by Weed and Dearborn, The J. B. 

 Lippincott Co., Philadelphia and London. 



Useful Birds and their Protection, by E. H. Forbush, Mass. State 

 Board of Agriculture. 



Read to the children The Birds of Killingworth, by Henry W. Long- 

 fellow. 



