SCHOOL DEPARTMENT 



Edited by MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 



Address all communications to the Editor of the School Department, National 

 Association of Audubon Societies, 141 Broadway, New York City 



FOR DECEMBER— SIX REMINDERS 



(i) Be sure that there is a heap of brush or corn-stalks somewhere about, the 

 place. If you live near cedar woods, cut half a dozen small trees and fasten them 

 securely against a fence or shed on the south side. 



If you have a pile of logs or kettle-wood at hand, thatch it loosely with either 

 corn-stalks, hemlock or cedar boughs, — then you will have the Winter Wren 

 and half a dozen other birds as permanent lodgers. Many perching birds in 

 winter prefer to roost upon something broad and flat, where they can huddle and 

 squat rather than perch. 



(2) Be sure that your trays or tree-boxes for holding bird-food are per- 

 forated at the bottom, so that moisture can get through and not freeze. The 

 boarders will find their meals chilly enough without having them literally put 

 in cold storage. 



(3) Be sure to vary the food, and when possible grind up some meat scraps 

 in your meat-chopper and mix it with the cracked corn and dog-biscuit on very 

 cold days and after a storm. At these times of peril, some freshly boiled pota- 

 toes or rice (the usual salt being omitted) will be much appreciated. 



(4) Be sure to set a pan of water in a sunny spot every day, no matter how 

 cold the weather is; there will be at least an hour when the birds will be able to 

 drink. 



(5) If you have undertaken to feed game birds either in natural or arti- 

 ficial cover that is at some distance from your house, be sure that it is done regu- 

 larly. A little experience will tell you how long the rations will last. If, as I hope, 

 you have a feeding-box for the smaller birds near the school-house, always 

 remember to provide an extra supply of food there on Friday, so that Sunday 

 need not be a fast, instead of a feast day. 



(6) Be sure to begin the New Year by keeping an outdoor diary if you have 

 never done it before, — the best memory is treacherous. A simple book with 

 three days to a page will suffice. Do not write long descriptions, as these are 

 awkward for reference. Jot down the names of birds or other objects seen, 

 the kind of weather and any other incidents as briefly as possible. Then, when 

 you open the book later on, the details will group themselves about this frame- 

 work of accuracy. — M. O. W. 



(276) 



