Bird Notes and News 



III 



distribute among the scholars as well as 

 to provide jam and tarta ! 



WHAT TEACHERS SAY 



Among the pleasant letters received 

 from Teachers with reference to Bird and 

 Tree work, two may be quoted, one 

 showing what good results may be 

 attained by where neither teacher nor 

 child set out with special knowledge 

 but where both are ready to use eyes 

 and ears ; the other illustrating the gain 

 even in a suburban school, where real 

 outdoor nature-study might hardly be 

 looked for. The first went to one of 

 the leading local judges of essays in 

 Norfolk, Mr. Fred V. Cole, to whose 

 sympathetic encouragement the Com- 

 petition in that county owes very much : — 



" Emma was afraid to enter the Bird 



and Tree Competition at first, as she felt 

 she knew nothing about birds. But, as I 

 told her at the time, I was in the same boat, 

 yet we both had eyes and ears. Events proved 

 that she used hers to good purpose, as she 

 gained a medal and a book prize for her essays. 

 She has left school now, but I am happy to 

 think that her year's work in this school has 

 opened her eyes to a world of which she miglit 

 have known little or nothing had it not been 

 for the Bird and Tree Scheme." 



The second came to the Secretary of 

 the Competition : — 



" The work this year has been a greater 

 pleasure than ever to the girls. They have 

 finished the year's work and the essays for 

 1923 have been sent in, and now they are most 

 anxious for the new Teams to be formed and 

 for the selection of birds and trees next to be 

 studied to be decided upon. Some girls have 

 even begged their parents to let them remain 

 at school a little longer so that they may 

 continue this study. We are very proud of 

 this, since ours is a very poor district where 

 the children have to be wage-earners as soon 

 as possible. I should like to say that every 

 girl in my senior class kept up the study and 

 wTote both essays. It was very difiicult to 

 pick out the six best." 



RURAL SCIENCE IN SCHOOLS 



A Rural Science Course again formed 

 one of the features of the Short Courses 

 of Instruction for Teachers in Elementary 



Schools arranged during the summer 

 holidays by the Board of Education. 

 This year the meeting took place in 

 July at Cambridge. Unfortunately, the 

 Royal Society for the Protection of 

 Birds could not be personally represented, 

 as was the case last year, but a large 

 amount of Bird and Tree and other 

 literature was available, and in a deUght- 

 ful lecture, with lantern illustrations, 

 given by Mr. T. Johnson, H.M.I., hearty 

 commendation was given to the scheme. 



The hearty thanks of the Society 

 are due to Teachers present at the Course 

 in 1922 who have given such invaluable 

 help to the work as is demonstrated in 

 the following letter from a county in 

 which the value of bird life is little 

 understood : — 



" Ever since my visit to Oxford last July 

 I have been trying hard to get the people 

 here interested in the protection of bird life. 

 We are in the midst of a large fruit-gTowing 

 district and I have always been against the 

 destruction of birds and birds' eggs, knowing 

 what friends birds are to rrual workers. This 

 year we have been visited by various pests 

 in the orchards, in common with other districts, 

 and at last it has been proved to the small 

 holders that where birds, both wild birds 

 or poultry, have unrestricted run of an orchard, 

 that orchard is bearing a better crop of fruit. 

 I have also induced some gardeners to observe 

 for themselves the good that birds do in 

 devouring hosts of grubs, etc., from the trees. 

 They are so fully convinced that they have 

 impressed on their children the benefit of 

 leaving birds unmolested. I have also given 

 several lessous on the protection of all birds, 

 and my dictum has been ' If you don't leave 

 the birds alone there will be no fruit trees, say, 

 ten years hence, for insect pests will have 

 then complete mastery and nothing will grow.' 

 Some folk already see the red light, I am glad 

 to say. 



" With the adults and children in this frame 

 of mind — the minority yet, but the majority 

 next year I hope — I have persuaded my top 

 classes to join in your Bird and Tree Scheme. 

 They have already given me the promise neither 

 to rob nests nor if they can help it, to let others 

 rob them, and to observe for themselves the 

 relationship between wild birds and insect 

 pests." 



