TEACHING CHILDREN TO BE HUMANE. 133 



their own lives if needful. Surely the impressible 

 hearts of children might be led to pity and pro- 

 tect our feathered songsters if once they were 

 made thoroughly acquainted with facts such as 

 these. 



Leaflets on natural history and kindness to 

 animals and birds can be had very cheaply from 

 the R.S.P.C.A., the Society for the Protection of 

 Birds, and the Dickybird Society, and these 

 should be scattered broadcast throughout our land, 

 where they cannot fail to do beneficent work. If 

 coloured lithographs of our common birds were 

 hung up in village schools, and simple explana- 

 tory lessons were given upon them, it would 

 surely be more useful to our country children than 

 that they should be taught to know the exact 

 difference between the Indian and African 

 elephant ! And yet one often sees large prints of 

 foreign animals in schools, and but seldom any- 

 thing so simple as pictures of the animals and 

 birds the children meet with in everyday life. 



Again, small prizes might be offered for the 

 best papers written upon our English birds, 

 describing their habits and uses, and all the 



