The Audubon Societies 241 



1. Prepare correct outline maps of the state in which you live, having as many maps 

 as there are counties in the state. 



2. Prepare county maps on a scale corresponding to that of the state maps. 



3. Indicate in different colors, on both state and county maps, the distribution of the 

 principal food-crops of the state, such as grains, potatoes, hay, sugar, garden vegetables, 

 etc., adding, also, forested areas, water areas, and orchards and forests. Study the dis- 

 tribution of minerals and indicate the location of mines or veins of minerals. 



4. When these maps have been carefully worked out in as complete a manner as 

 possible, superimpose each county map, in its proper position, on a state map and 

 study the result. 



5. Take up towns and villages in the same manner, with reference to county maps, 

 drawn to sufficiently large scale to be easily seen when hung on the wall. 



6. Study these charts in detail, until you are clearly informed as to the natural 

 resources of the state as a whole. 



7. When the resources of your own state are exhausted, try comparing them with 

 those of adjoining states. 



8. So far as possible, determine the birds which are distributed in the various parts 

 of any particular county, keeping a record of the habits and occurrence of each species 

 with reference to gardens and cultivated areas throughout the state. Note particularly 

 the differences in distribution of forested, wet and dry, cultivated and uncultivated areas. 



9. Make a state, county, and town or village record of the average annual rainfall, 

 snowfall, and extremes of heat and cold, and of humidity and aridity. 



10. Study soils, learning to recognize different degrees of fertility by means of analyz- 

 ing the composition of soils, and make a village or town chart, showing the location of 

 fertile and infertile areas. Look up a few facts about the difficulty of "clearing" land 

 and of the rapidity with which neglected farms or gardens go back to a state of nature. 

 If possible, assemble such village or town maps by counties, and then groups of county 

 maps by states. Where possible, use modeling clay to make topographic maps instead of 

 ordinary charts. 



11. In a general way, gain an idea of the humid and arid areas in the United States 

 and Canada, noting the location of forested areas, large bodies of water, average rainfall, 

 snowfall, and extremes of temperature. Isothermal (equal heat) and isohyetal (equal rain- 

 fall) charts are full of interest and are not difficult to understand. 



12. With this knowledge as a background, review the migration and nesting dis- 

 tribution of our native birds. Try to find out some reasons why birds frequent the 

 particular areas where they are most commonly found. 



Reference to the following works will be helpful: 



Life Zones and Crop Zones of the United States, by Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Bulletin 

 No. 10, Division of Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



Laws of Temperature Control of the Geographical Distribution of Terrestrial Animals 

 and Plants, by Dr. C. Hart Merriam, National Geographic Magazine, Vol. VI, 

 pp. 229-238. 



The Geographic Distribution of Animals and Plants in North America, Yearbook of the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture for 1894, pp. 203-214. 



Useful Birds and Their Protection, and also. Game Birds, Wild Fowl and Shore Birds, 

 by Edward H. Forbush, Massachusetts Department of Agriculture. 



Consult the bibliographies in Chapman's Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America, 

 and Color Key to North American Birds, Weed and Dearborn's Birds in Their 

 Relation to Man, and also. Yearbooks of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, as 

 well as bulletins and reports published by State Departments of Agriculture. 



