94 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Greenfield, June 12). At each of these meetings prizes for bird 

 houses and nesting boxes were offered to children. The prizes 

 brought out a large number of interesting designs. 



The lecturer of the State grange, Mrs. George S. Ladd, organ- 

 ized a bird day meeting at Grafton, which was very largely 

 attended. Many nesting boxes were erected on this day in 

 different parts of the town. Through her efforts and those of 

 the bird committee of the State grange, many subordinate 

 granges observed a "bird night" with appropriate exercises 

 tending to teach appreciation of bird life. 



The lecturer of the New Hampshire State grange, Mr. Charles 

 W. Warner, recommended that each subordinate grange in that 

 State have an essay in April on the "Value of Birds to the 

 Farmer," and he wrote to this office for material and advice. 



Several States of the Union already have set aside a day in 

 the schools to be called "bird day," and to be devoted to the 

 study of birds and the care of them. Massachusetts should not 

 be the last to take up this plan. At least one school day each 

 year should be devoted entirely to the study and protection of 

 birds. 



Bird Study in the Schools. 



Ornithology may be taught in the public schools or not, but 

 the utility of birds and bird protection must be. When we 

 find foreigners in this Commonwealth shooting the birds which 

 nest about their homes, and teaching their children to pluck 

 the feathers from them and prepare them for the pot; when 

 we find these people taking the young birds from their nests 

 for food; when we know that some American boys kill num- 

 bers of small birds with air guns, and that others shoot with 

 shotguns such game as chickadees and goldfinches, there should 

 be something injected into our system of education to counter- 

 act such tendencies. In 1861 the harvests of France gave such 

 meager returns that a commission of scientists was appointed 

 to inquire into the cause of the deficit. They found it in the 

 destruction of insect-eating birds throughout the country. 

 Birds and birds' eggs were eaten by the people. The com- 

 mission proposed that teachers and clergy should put the mat- 

 ter before the people, as the condition required prompt and 



