CHAPTER VI 



BIRD-PROTECTION IN SCHOOLS 



Values of Bird-study, — The values of bird- 

 study in its influence on child-life are many. 

 It has a practical value in showing the great 

 economic service which birds render man, as a 

 result of which knowledge the child will become 

 a more serviceable citizen ; it has a training-value 

 in teaching the child to become an accurate ob- 

 server, as a result of which his later mental de- 

 velopment will be more complete ; it has a very 

 distinct aesthetic value, as a means of arousing 

 an interest in nature, which may form a life-long 

 source of enjoyment, in which respect it is ex- 

 celled, perhaps, by no other subject in its pos- 

 sibilities ; and finally the study of bird-life has a 

 moral value in broadening the sympathies of the 

 child and developing a spirit of kindness and 

 thoughtfulness toward all living things. A sub- 

 ject full of such possibilities is certainly worthy 

 of more than passing notice in our school system. 



Bird-protection. — To interest the children 

 in birds is also the most permanent way of fur- 



