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Bird Notes and News 



Bird-and-Tree (Arbor) Day. 



CHALLENGE SHIELD COMPETITIONS. 



In spite of numerous difficulties this year, 

 the Schools have risen gallantly to the occa- 

 sion and there is little falling off in the 

 number of Competitors, and but an occa- 

 sional lowering of the standard of work. 

 In very many cases, the older children, boys 

 especially, have left school to take up work 

 for the country ; in some instances, 50 or 

 even 70 per cent, of Standards V, VI and VII 

 have left. Younger Cadets have taken their 

 places in the Team ; and boys and girls 

 eager to continue the study, but unable to 

 fall-in for the Essay-writing, have passed on 

 discoveries made in the field to their friends 

 still at school. In some cases, too, the 

 Teacher has enlisted and with him the moving 

 spirit has gone ; but in others, again, the 

 influence has remained and proved stronger 

 than ever. Schools, Teachers, and Cadets 

 may all be heartily congratulated. 



The species of Birds and Trees studied 

 continues to show admirable increase. This 

 year the list includes some 55 British birds. 



The judges were : Mr. Montagu Sharpe 

 (Chairman of Council), Mr. G. A. Freeman, 

 B.Sc, Mr. W. H. Hudson, Mr. Hastings Lees, 

 Mrs. Fuller Maitland, Mr. J. R. B. Masefield, 

 the Rev. J. G. Tuck, and Miss Gardiner. 



INTER-COUNTY SHIELD. 



Ten sets of Essays, from the eight Shield- 

 winners and two Champion Schools, were 

 competitors for the Inter-County Shield ; 

 and the Competition was a close and interest- 

 ing one, the ages, methods, and characteristics 

 of Teams varjdng widely and showing in how 

 many different ways excellence may be 

 reached. The Shield is awarded to Hamp- 



shire'srepresentative,the Team of St. Peter's 

 Girls' School, Bournemouth ; a Boys' 

 Team, that of the Victoria Council School, 

 Wellingborough (Northants) is second. 

 Something is said of these papers under the 

 respective counties. It remains to be noted 

 that the third place is taken by Woburn 

 Boys' Council School, who write exceedingly 

 good papers on Treecreeper, Green Wood- 

 pecker, and Great Crested Grebe, White 

 Poplar, Horse Chestnut and Hawthorn, 

 with full, close, and accurate observation ; 

 and that Warwickshire's Champion School, 

 Mancetter, sends papers crammed with such 

 bright and intelligent notes that the 

 enthusiastic interest of the children in the 

 work is most happily proved. 



The special prize for the best Essay on one 

 of the British Owls is won by Dorothy Jones, 

 Haselor School (Warwickshire) with a nice 

 paper on the Brown Owl, Stanley Pearce, 

 Chillington (Somerset) being second, and Alan 

 Blood, Withnell (Lancashire), third. 

 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 



Champion School. — Wolverton 

 St. Mary Girls'. 



Challenge Shield. — Coleshtll 

 C.E. School. 



Bucks is a county which has first-rate 



leaders but is not quite awake yet. Whether 



because birds are too abundant in this 



favoured county to be properly appreciated 



and studied, or because three or four schools 



which are old competitors are looked upon 



as too strong for opposition, the fact remains 



that the work is feeble in quantity though 



vigorous in quality, and there are not enough 



newcomers to give the variety that could be 



wished to the contest. Wolverton St. Mary, 



