The Audubon Societies 



401 



Broadening Bird-Study 



Our organizers of classes, teachers, and 

 all others interested in the Junior Audubon 

 field, have realized that in too many cases 

 the instruction given and received lacked 

 depth — seemed to content itself with 

 acquiring the ability to recognize certain 

 birds of the neighborhood. That is good 

 and desirable as far as it goes, but it is too 

 limited. A person who spoke of 'studying' 

 automobiles, and stopped at learning the 

 names of a few of the 'makes,' without 

 getting a fair idea of the construction of a 

 motor-car, the nature of its engine, its 

 fuel, capabilities and uses, would justly 

 be thought to know little of the subject. 

 Similarly, in bird-study, the pupil should 

 learn somewhat of the structure of birds 

 as a class, the part they play in nature, 

 the means by which the}' "live and move 

 and have their being," and how the diverse 

 forms of wings and beaks and feet exhib- 

 ited by the various kinds of birds about us 

 are adapted to the habits and activities 

 of each sort. 



The difficulty in the way of accomplish- 

 ing this lies too often in lack of the requi- 

 site knowledge by the teacher, who, as a 

 rule, is little to be blamed for this de- 

 ficiency. To supply this lack, and to 

 furnish just such information as has been 

 indicated above, in a simple, untechnical 

 way, Mr. Ernest IngersoU has prepared 

 his illustrated 'Primer of Bird-Study,' 

 which is now offered by the National 

 Association at a price (fifteen cents) 

 within the reach of any purse. It has met 

 with the approval of e.xperts both in 

 ornithology and in pedagogy, and may be 

 confidently recommended to teachers of 

 nature-study, scoutmasters, etc., and par- 

 ticularly to the leaders of Junior Audubon 

 Classes. The logical arrangement of its 

 matter, and its division by subheads, 

 make it practicable as a text-book; so 

 that it would well serve the purpose of 

 elementary class-room instruction, or 

 as a program for work in clubs, reading- 

 circles, and families desiring to pursue a 

 definite course of study, using the Educa- 

 tional Leaflets as supplementary, illus- 



trative reading. With these possible pur- 

 poses in view, special terms arc offered 

 to those who wish to buy it in quantities. 



Enthusiasm in Ohio 



The Audubon Society, in Columbus, 

 Ohio, the secretary of which is Miss Lucy 

 B. Stone, held a display of its work last 

 October that was peculiarly successful. It 

 attracted so much attention that the 

 exhibit remained on view a whole week; 

 and the society profited largely by an 

 increase of members, while the whole 

 town received new ideas of what the 

 .\udubon movement means. This exhibit, 

 which included all the means and methods 

 of bird-study and bird-protection, baths, 

 drinking-fountains. arrangements for 

 winter feeding, nesting-boxes, etc., was 

 held in the Public Library. The Library 

 has several cases of mounted bird-skins, 

 and around these cases were grouped the 

 tables of exhibits, carefully labeled. An 

 illustrative feature, lending beauty as 

 well as instruction, was a grouping of 

 framed plates from the Educational 

 Leaflets of the National Association. 

 Thus, by the Library's case of birds of 

 prey was placed the framed group of 

 'Beneficial Hawks;' by the case of song- 

 birds was hung the frame of colored plates 

 labeled 'Valuable Insect-eating Birds,' and 

 so on. A novel and commendable exhibit 

 was a labeled display of berries, seeds, etc., 

 eaten by birds, illustrating the kinds of 

 trees, shrubs and vines that should be 

 planted to attract birds. The systematic 

 distribution of publications of the National 

 Association, and other useful literature, 

 was another admirable feature of this suc- 

 cessful show, attended by 3,000 visitors. 



How Madison Helps 



Mr. H. L. Madison, Secretary of the 

 Rhode Island Audubon Society, is en- 

 titled to hearty recognition of the work he 

 is doing at the Park Museum in Provi- 

 dence. Not content with mere museum 

 administration, he has established a 

 course of weekly scientific lectures, popu- 



