114 



Bird Notes and News 



is perhaps a grudging admission that the 

 Swallow " is of some use by eating grubs," 

 or that the Flycatcher " does not do much 

 harm," mingled with assertions that the 

 Peewit eats the farmer's corn, that the 

 Goldfinch is destructive in the garden, and 

 that Hedge-Sparrows , Linnets, Thrushes, 

 and numerous other species " live " on 

 corn and fruit ! From this elementary 

 stage the competitor begins to use his own 

 eyes, until the essay of the trained boy 

 or girl will recount systematic watching of 

 birds feeding their young ; will tell how 

 the " gardening boys " welcome the Wag- 

 tail because it devours the turnip grub ; 

 will picture with brush the thistle, ground- 

 sel and plantain in which the Goldfinch 

 delights ; and will describe the hunt of 

 Warbler^ or Tit for aphis on the fruit-tree, 

 of Flycatcher for the cabbage-butterfly on 

 the wing, of Gull or Rook for wire worm 

 behind the plough, and so on. 



No one would wish the natural delight 

 of children in bird-life to be restricted to 

 cold economic logic, nor is it contended 

 that a child's investigations are necessarily 

 of value. The point is that thousands of 

 children are learning half-imconsciously 

 to think and notice for themselves, and 

 are having eyes and minds trained to 

 observe accurately, to discriminate in- 

 telligently, and, in time, to judge. With 

 this new interest and new knowledge they 

 can as adults never go back to the hap- 

 hazard persecution, the ignorant destruc- 

 tion, or the purely sentimental protection 

 of former days. Among all the " food- 

 saving " and " food-producing " devices 

 of the day, Bird-and-Tree work is one of 

 permanent value, since it comes forward 

 with no temporary empiric remedy, but is 

 educating the farmer and gardener of the 

 future. 



Second to the food supply comes the 

 national shortage of timber to which the 

 war has compelled attention. The con- 



nexion of the Bird with the life and vigour 

 of the Tree is obvious to every entomo- 

 logist. Bird-and-Tree work leads also to 

 knowledge of the uses of woods ; com- 

 parative value of trees ; soils and species ; 

 economic value of fallen leaves, acorns, 

 honeyed flowers. The practical knowledge 

 shown by some of the children is remark- 

 able, and curiosity soon sets any essayist 

 asking questions of wheelwright, carpenter, 

 forester, " father," or that cyclopaedia of 

 all knowledge, " teacher." The require- 

 ments of war-trenching need not have 

 paralysed all trades for which wood is 

 required, had the nation learned to consider 

 its timber-supply ; while — to turn to 

 another aspect of the matter — the Field 

 has lately alluded to the fortunes that 

 might have been made if 70 or 80 years 

 ago men had planted walnut-trees on their 

 land. The whole trend to-day is towards 

 afforestation, such as was not dreamed 

 of when the Bird-and-Tree scheme was 

 organised. The annual tree-planting was 

 an object-lesson in many a school before 

 the national awakening came ; and it 

 continues to keep before thousands of 

 children the national importance of 

 forestry. 



There is not space here to do more than 

 suggest a further service rendered by the 

 R.S.P.B. in war-time, and at all times, by 

 its Bird-and-Tree work. The suggestion 

 may be put in words spoken by an educa- 

 tional expert, Mr. J. C. Medd, when the 

 scheme was just starting : 



" Nature Study perhaps more than any 

 subject trains and strengthens common-sense. 

 It develops the habit of orderly thinking, for 

 the knowledge required must be exact. It 

 stimulates the reflective faculties, from which 

 spring intelligence and judgment . . . upon 

 which depends efficiency in every department 

 of life." 



Common sense, orderly thinking, sound 

 judgment, are qualities not negligible 

 in the winning of wars. 



