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Bird - Lore 



study that would be given this summer. At the time this goes to press, some 

 of these schools have not yet been heard from, and, undoubtedly, there will be 

 courses in bird-study given in other institutions than those from which announce- 

 ments have been received. The schools here listed, however, represent the 

 country (except the Far West) fairly well and give an idea of the types of 

 instruction that will be offered. If anyone decides he would like to take up 

 bird-work at some other institution than the ones listed, he should address 



the director of that summer 

 school and he may discover 

 that a course in bird-study will 

 be given. Assurances have come 

 to the Editor from many of the 

 larger summer schools where 

 bird-work will not be given this 

 year, that courses will be offered 

 as soon as the demand justifies 

 it, but that this year the spirit 

 of retrenchment that pervades 

 all educational work forbids 

 them offering it. 



It must not be assumed that 

 instruction in bird-study is in- 

 tended only for teachers or those 

 who plan to use their knowledge 

 professionally. A canvass of the 

 students enrolled in the summer 

 school at Cornell University 

 during the past few years has 

 shown them about equally 

 divided into teachers who plan 

 to use the work in their schools 

 and those who take it for their 

 own pleasure. The class work, they discovered, crystallized what they already 

 knew about birds by systematizing it, and thus made it possible for them to 

 progress much more rapidly. At the same time it opened up new fields to them 

 and introduced them to new friends. The learning of birds' songs, which is 

 an almost endless task, is greatly shortened by having a teacher who is already 

 familiar with them. Indeed so much does this mean to some bird students 

 that some bird-courses, such as that at the University of Cincinnati, are 

 designed primarily for this purpose. 



Another advantage of class study is the inspiration of being thrown with 

 persons of kindred tastes. Too often the student of birds is compelled to work 

 by himself and is discouraged by the lack of interest in those all about him. 



WATCHING A HUMMINGBIRD'S NEST 

 Individual Work Supplements Class Work in Some Courses 



