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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT 



Edited by ALICE HALL "W ALTER 



Address all communications relative to the work of this depart- 

 ment to the Editor, 67 Oriole Avenue, Providence, R. I. 



"Hitherto my rambles have been confined to the neighborhood of a single spot, 

 with a view of showing how perfectly accessible to all, are numerous and varied 

 natural objects." 



"When an inhabitant of the country, it was sufficient to go a few steps from the 

 door, to be in the midst of numerous interesting objects; when a resident of the 

 crowded city, a healthful walk of half an hour placed me where my favorite enjoyment 

 was offered in abundance; and now, when no longer able to seek in fields and woods 

 and running streams for that knowledge which cannot readily be elsewhere obtained, 

 the recollection of my former rambles is productive of a satisfaction which past pleas- 

 ures but seldom bestow." — Rambles of a Naturalist by Dr. John D. Godman, 1859. 



A SUGGESTION FOR BIRD AND ARBOR DAY 



MANY beautiful and instructive pageants have been given to celebrate 

 historical events or special and significant phases of progress. These 

 entertainments have done much to stimulate interest and civic pride 

 in the development of the towns, cities or neighborhoods which furnished the 

 occasion for their undertaking. The main object of such pageants, indeed, is to 

 draw the people of a community more closely together and to attract those out- 

 side to share in the creation of new enterprises and enthusiasms. 



The thought comes to one who has witnessed such a pageant: Why not try 

 this idea in a simple way for the improvement of Bird and Arbor Day exercises, 

 and indirectly for the betterment of the conservation of natural resources in 

 all of its manifold forms? 



State Audubon Societies could do a great deal in this direction by getting 

 together the materials for a Bird and Arbor Day pageant on an inexpensive 

 scale, within the means as well as within the ability of rural or urban schools. 

 The effort put into an entertainment of this kind is never wasted, provided that 

 effort is well directed. There is an opportunity here for the exercise of a 

 variety of talents and the person who is able to conceive and work out a Bird 

 and Arbor Day pageant of merit, suitable for presentation by the scholars in 

 our primary grade and high schools will deserve our attention and praise. 



The Bird masque, 'Sanctuary', written by Percy MacKaye, is beyond the 

 abiHty of the average school, but wherever it has been properly presented, it 

 has not only given much pleasure, but also, awakened keen interest in birds 

 and nature. — A. H. W. 



[Note: See Bird-Lore, Vol. XVIII, No. 6, pp. 451 and 465.] 



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