62 



Bird Notes and News 



name will appear upon it this year, that of 

 Haversham, which wins by the intelligent and 

 unconventional manner in which first-hand 

 matter is treated, while the little sketches are 

 original and illustrative. Certificates go to 

 Coleshill, which maintains its high standard 

 and has excellent subjects ; Cuddington, with 

 particularly neat and nice little papers ; and 

 Pitstone, where there are promising young 

 naturalists ; while the Girls' Team from St. 

 Mary's, Amersham, make a capital start on 

 the right lines, and with further practice will 

 not confine themselves so closely to the nesting 

 season. 



CUMBERLAND 



Last year Seaton Camerton succeeded in 

 wresting the Shield from St. John's Girls, 

 Keswick, but this year Keswick, with a valiant 

 effort to surpass its former achievements, 

 sends in essays full of personal observation, 

 all set forth in an easy, natural and sympathetic 

 manner, and written for the first time without 

 use of notes. It wins the day. Seaton Camer- 

 ton, however, also using no notes, again does 

 well, though the Bird papers are too ex- 

 clusively papers on nests. It is regrettable 

 that the Goldfinch, increasing in most parts 

 of the country, is said to be decreasing in this 

 district, where what the young writer sarcas- 

 tically calls *' bird lovers " appear to be still 

 allowed to evade the law. This School pro- 

 vides two Teams, Keswick three. The smaller 

 Schools of Cargo and Nether Denton had 

 possibly enough to do to make up one, but 

 those enlisted have worked enthusiastically 

 and both are awarded Certificates. 



HAMPSHIRE 



The Council of the Society are disappointed 

 that here, as in Bucks, better response is not 

 made to their efforts for the benefit (present 

 and future) of country dwellers and to the 

 cordial commendatory words of the Education 

 authorities. The work done here, too, is very 

 good, but there ought to be a great deal more 

 of it. It is a thousand pities when Schools 

 which have entered and worked draw back 

 at the last moment for fear their efforts should 

 not be successful. In the effort lies the success, 

 and the judges are glad to welcome elementary 

 work, if sincere. The Isle of Wight and, with 

 one exception the Boroughs, do nothing. Ridge 

 so frequently in the van, wins the Shield once 

 more, the Boscombe Girls taking Second 

 Prize ; but some delightful papers, fresh and 

 individual, come from Headley (Holme School), 



Headbourne Worthy and Durley. Highly 

 promising, again, is a new School, Twyford ; 

 and Hinton Ampner does pleasant work ; 

 while Wickham, if but moderately satisfactory, 

 could probably do better if the children put 

 a little more " snap " into their work. 



LANCASHIRE 



Lancashire continues to do excellent work 

 ui the Competition, and there is very little 

 that is dull or careless in the numerous papers 

 examined, many of them being individual 

 studies of an admirable kind, giving pleasant 

 glimpses of country round about the Schools 

 and lively pictures of its Birds and Trees. 

 Those written without aid from notes, often 

 the case in Lancashire, are as a rule most 

 successful in this respect, sometimes with the 

 corresponding defect of too sketchy a treatment 

 of the special subjects. Newburgh C.E. being, 

 as a Champion School, out of the running 

 for the County Sliield, the final competition 

 lies with Cartmel Fell, Bolton-le-Sands R.C., 

 and Buckhm'st, the first-named coming at 

 the head with admirable papers, and the other 

 two being bracketed equal seconds. The 

 variety of subjects in all these teams is notable, 

 and an essay on the Oyster-catcher by a boy 

 of nine at Bolton-le-Sands is a capital piece of 

 observation, while Buckhurst excels in graphic 

 pictures of Trees. Certificates go to Adlington 

 (St. Paul's), Blawith, Brathay District 

 (Skelwith), Burtonwood, Hollins Green, Samles- 

 Ijury, Satterthwaite, Walmsley C.E., and 

 Withnell U.M. A number of other teams are 

 highly commended. 



NORFOLK 



It is impossible to offer anything but hearty 

 congratulation to Norfolk, which furnishes 

 essays from over eighty Schools. Good work, 

 too, most of it, though some crude and elemen- 

 tary enough, the Teachers no doubt recognising 

 the fact — very insufficiently appreciated in 

 general — that the work itself is of infinitely 

 more importance in the education of children 

 than the competitive victory, the honest effort 

 far more inspiring than the easy win. Three 

 Schools send such observant, bright and 

 sympathetic essays that it is not easy to place 

 them first, second and third. Necton ulti- 

 mately takes the Shield, with Postwick and 

 Bracon Ash equal seconds. Admirable, also, 

 are the papers from Saham Toney and Wor- 

 stead, and Certificates go likewise to Bergh 

 Apton, Beechamwell, Colby and Felmingham, 



