Bird Notes and New« 



51 



as well as m Paris ; and if a number of 

 women of fashion who now devote their 

 energies to selling bazaar inutilities and 

 organizing concerts for war-funds were to 

 promote a soldiers' industry, and at the 

 ■ame time make the use of embroidered 

 millinery " smart," they might do some 

 permanent service. A certain amount of 

 embroidery is worn ; and the question is 

 not as to its beauty or elegance, or as to 

 the possibility of teaching men — already 

 successful in making dolls and toys — to pro- 

 duce it. The sole doubt is — Are women in 

 too complete bondage to their miUiners 

 and the milliners to the feather-traders to 

 take up a scheme which would help disabled 

 heroes instead of swelling trade profits ? 



MiLLINBRY AND MUNITIONS. 



In the early days of the war plume- 

 traders in France appealed to the United 

 States to relax the plumage prohibition law 

 for the sake of " poor feather- workers " of 

 Paris. It is interesting to learn from M. Ed- 

 mond Perrier (writing in Le Temps) that the 

 feather- workers have been essentially needed 

 for making munitions. They will be equally 

 necessary in all manner of factories after 

 the war, both in England and France, when 

 useful manufactures revive and manu- 

 facturers are placed on their mettle to supply 

 the world's goods. No one can longer 

 pretend that the old-time manipulator of 

 " ospreys " and " mounts " will lack em- 

 ployment or prove unadaptable to it. 



Bird-and-Tree Challenge Shield Competitions. 



[Particulars of the Society s Bird-and-Tree {Arbor Day) Scheme, atid of the Essay 

 Competitions, open to all Elementary Schools, may he had from the Secretary, R.S.P.B., 

 23, Queen Anne^s Gate, S.W.] 



A REPORT on the working of the Bird-and- 

 Tree Competition this year can hardly be 

 better prefaced than by an extract from a 

 circular letter sent by the Secretary of the 

 Norfolk Education Committee to the School 

 Teachers of Norfolk : — 



" These are war times, and the schools 

 have to a considerable extent been deprived 

 of their older children, especially the boys. 

 No doubt this accounts in great measure 

 for the falhng off in the competing teams 

 in the Bird-and-Tree Scheme, teachers 

 feehng that their Teams had no chance 

 because of the absence of the elder children. 



" The results prove this to be a mistake. 

 The First and Second Teams [in Norfolk] 

 were both composed of young children, 

 only one over twelve years of age. This, 

 therefore, is not a sufficient reason for 

 omitting to raise a Team ; and I hope the 

 success of the young Teams will encourage 

 Teachers to raise a Team for the present 

 year (1916-7). 



" There can be no question as to the 

 educational value of the direct observation 

 and of the resulting expression of ideas, 

 both by writing and drawing, which the 

 children engaged in the Bird-and-Tree 

 Scheme are obliged to undertake. The 

 effort is stimulating, and the results have 

 a direct bearing upon the efficiency of the 

 general work of the school." 



Since the issue of this letter the young 

 Team of Beechamwell, which took First 

 Place in Norfolk, has been awarded the 

 Inter-County Shield, the Second Place being 

 assigned to Newburgh Team, representing 

 the industrial county of Lancashire, and 

 the Third to Bedworth Council School, 

 working under wholly different conditions 

 again, in Warwickshire. 



One of the great charms of Bird-and-Tree 

 work and results is their imexpectedness. 

 It is impossible to say what class of school 



