BiRDSALL] NATURE WORK AT CAMP KEHONKA 173 



end of the season the campers having the greatest num.ber of claims 

 were rewarded with bird and flower guide books. There was 

 always great enthusiasm in bringing in interestiag reports. Occa- 

 sionally nature-poetry contests were held. Although the leaming 

 of poems was never required, there was always a large number of 

 contestants. The poem.s were given in the form of challenges 

 between two members of the same or of different bands, and the 

 winner was decided by a vote. Poetry given in this way — under 

 the open sky, with the sunset light shining from the "Promised 

 Land" over the waters of the lake — took on a real m.eaning and led 

 the campers to see through nature to the great Creator of all things. 

 One of the most interesting features of our sum.m.er's work was 

 the weekly Kehonka Nature Exhibit. This was placed through- 

 out the sum.m.er at the Public Library of Wolfeboro, a town some 

 three miles distant from our cam.p. We started it as a sort of 

 connecting link between the cam.p and the town and as a m.eans 

 of sharing with the townspeople some of our more interesting 

 discoveries. Each week a com.m.ittee of two m.embers was ap- 

 pointed by the campers to assist the nature counselor in assem.bling 

 the exhibit for the week. These exhibits took various forms. 

 One week we showed all the evergreens to be found in the region. 

 We gathered a fruiting branch of each variety, which we inserted 

 in a small cross-section of the wood. Another week all the birches 

 with their leaves, bark and fruit, made a beautiful collection. 

 We had great luck in finding a variety of nests, am.ong them some 

 rather unusual ones; such as the ovenbird's nest, the sandpiper's 

 nest, and a phoebe's nest in which bum.ble bees had m.ade their 

 homes. These nests proved to be one of the m.ost interesting of our 

 Hbrary exhibits. Towards the close of the season we proudly 

 exhibited a number of bird houses made by the cam.pers. These 

 were of all sorts and sizes, m.ade according to standard m.easure- 

 ments, from a cunning little rustic wren's house to a huge birch- 

 bark affair suitable for a screech owl. With each exhibit there 

 went a short description written in technical language and with 

 some appropriate reference to poetic literature. We were much 

 gratified when our Kehonka Nature Exhibit was noted several 

 times in the Granite State News, the town paper. But aside from 

 this mark of appreciation we felt well repaid for the time and effort 

 spent in this work by the real enjoyment which we expcricncx^l 

 in our search for new material. 



