290 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 



The bird group had, during the season, seven monthly meetings 

 at the homes of different members. Audubon charts were used 

 to get acquainted with the birds, their markings and comparative 

 sizes. 



The chairman assigned different members to prepare a paper 

 or a talk on some particular bird or class of birds, gradually getting 

 around to all the members and most of the birds to be seen in 

 Webster Groves. 



Early morning bird walks were frequently called, to see, hear 

 and identify birds on the wing, and also to find the location of the 

 best bird hatmts. Other walks were in the afternoon, one ex- 

 tending into the night, to hear the whippoorwill and one, a 

 very pleasant out -door "experience meeting" with picnic lunch, 

 was held on the beautiful lawn of one of our members. 



Sixty-six varieties of birds were identified during the season. 

 At the present time four members of the bird group are operating 

 government bird traps, and banding (through permission of the 

 Bureau of Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture) 

 all such birds as come into the traps, recording and forwarding the 

 results to the Biological Survey. In the few weeks that they 

 have been operating, about thirty birds have been banded and 

 released and a large nimiber of English Sparrows placed where 

 they can do no more harm. 



The astronomy group has been meeting once a month ; during 

 the summer they were very informal and held in the pleasant 

 back yard of one of our members, and through a three-inch Tel- 

 escope we followed the movements of the planets, the moon, 

 star clusters and nebulae, and more than one, especially of the 

 younger members, who had never seen the wonderful workings 

 of nature through a telescope, experienced the "thrill that comes 

 once in a life time" upon seeing Jupiter and his moons, illustrate 

 in miniature, the movements of the solar system. 



At most of the meetings of the tree group during the winter, 

 bare branches from trees were brought in, and the tree key for 

 winter used in tracing them down and identifying them. 



The flower group did most of its work in field trips. We 

 also have junior groups for the study of birds, trees, wild flowers, 

 insects and reptiles. They study out of doors, taking walks, 

 under the guidance of competent active members, who give 

 one day a week during the school year to this work. 



