250 ADVENTURES AMONG BIRDS 



of ten or twelve or thirteen finds the task assigned 

 him not a very simple one, to be placed at a table 

 with sheets of foolscap paper before him and given 

 an hour in which to compose an essay on the bird, 

 selected — the gist of his observations ; .to be reminded 

 at the same time that he is one of the team of nine 

 chosen for the work, that the eyes of the village are 

 on him, that he must do his best to win the county 

 shield for the school. The conditions are not too 

 favourable ; nevertheless, the children are doing re- 

 markably well, because, as I have said, their heart is in 

 it, and one is delighted to find that this study of a bird 

 has not only quickened the child's interest in nature 

 but has taught him to think of the bird in a new way, 

 with the feeling which seeks to protect. We may 

 safely say that these children will not forget this new 

 lesson they are being taught, whatever else may drop 

 out of their memories when they leave school ; that 

 in coming time, when they are fathers and mothers 

 themselves, they will instil the same feeling into their 

 own children. 



This then of all the various efforts we have made and 

 are making to save the wild bird life of our country is 

 to my mind the most promising for the future, and 

 makes it possible to believe that the bird of greatest 

 lustre we possess, our nightingale, will not only main- 

 tain its own ground in undiminished numbers, but in 

 due time will increase and extend its range. 



