256 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



NATURAL HISTORY CAMP, 



Wigwam Hill, Lake Quinsigamond, Worcester, ]\Iass. 



Snugly tucked away on the west shore of beautiful Lake Quinsig- 

 amond, this summer, was a novel camp for teachers and students of 

 nature, conducted by the Worcester Natural History Society. For 

 years, the society has owned a beautiful tract of about forty acres of 

 land for all living wild creatures, and it is on this or adjoining land that 

 the editor has done most of his study and photography of our common 

 birds. 



The camp is located beside a wide boulevard that encircles the lake, 

 but is three quarters of a mile distant from the main highway, near enough 

 to be easily accessible to those interested and sufficiently remote to 

 prevent its being over run by the large crowds that frequent the two 

 popular parks that also front on the lake. Those who did not wish to 

 make the trip a-foot could go in the launch that made hourly runs from 

 the cars to the camp landing. During the height of the season the 

 camp presented a very cosy and attractive appearance to visitors; rows 

 of tents skirted the base of the hill; enthusiastic campers were showing 

 their friends about the grounds, the greatest interest centering in the 

 large aquarium which stood near the model bird fountain. Early in the 

 morning most of the campers adjourned to the bathing beach for an 

 hours sport, and many of them received their first instructions in this 

 too often neglected art. The remainder of the mornings was devoted 

 to short expeditions after flowers, insects, aquaria material or for bird 

 observation. At a stated hour each afternoon, was an hours talk on 

 one or' the other of the subjects of interest; the public was invited to 

 all these talks, and came a-foot, in carriages, automobiles or by boat; 

 the conditions of the weather and the size of the crowds determined 

 whether the lecture should be in the indoor pavilion or on the outdoor 

 lecture platform. As is usual with such gatherings, the evenings were 

 most often spent around a rousing campfire, where stories were ex- 

 changed. 



While rather in the nature of an experiment, the first season of this 

 imdertaking has been satisfactory in nearly all respects and preparations 

 are under way to very much increase the scope and magnitude of the 

 work next year. Certainly all those who participated in it had a valu- 

 able and an enjoyable vacation and its influences will be far reaching. 

 It is with the hope that other similar camps may be established in other 

 parts of the country, that these facts are given. It certainly would be 

 a blessing for humanity if we could all spend a month each year in such 



