34 THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 



book as his record of field work. We demand 15 of these and 10 others 

 from laboratory study. When these are carefully colored the pupil has 

 his own color key and is ready for the class examination." 



A Bird Talk in the Movies 



Mr. Orpheus M. Schantz, President of the Illinois Audubon So- 

 ciety, claims to know of a new method of getting an audience for a 

 bird lecture and he bases his claim upon his recent experience at Sheffield 

 where he went to give a bird talk. "As every one knows," says Mr. Schantz, 

 "with the coming of the movies, great difficulty is found in many com- 

 munities in getting any kind of a crowd to attend a lecture of an educa- 

 tional character. It was a woman who discovered how to get a crowd to 

 attend the bird lecture in Sheffield. Arrangements were made with the 

 picture house to run several reels and then allow an hour for the lecture. 

 As the result of this strategy, the house was crowded, with standing room 

 only, and whether persons wished to or not, they heard an illustrated 

 talk on the economics of bird life. 



"It is hoped that some of the 500 people in attendance will have 

 realized as a result of the missionary w r ork, something of the relation of 

 our bird, life to farm economics." 



After the lecture Mr. Schantz went to the Sheffield House to spend the 

 night. It was late and the proprietors of the hotel were about ready to 

 close up for the night. Some one noticing his case of slides asked him if 

 he was the "bird man," and on acknowledging the implication, he was 

 asked whether he knew Robert Ridgway. When Mr. Schantz stated that 

 he knew Mr. Ridgway by reputaticn and was an admirer of his writings 

 about birds, he made the interesting discovery that the landlady was a 

 cousin to the famous ornithologist, and that she and her husband were 

 very proud of their relationship. After this discovery Mr. Schantz visited 

 for nearly two hours with these charming people and learned from them 

 many delightful and interesting anecdotes of our great Illinois orni- 

 thologist. 



It seems Mr. Ridgway as a boy became intensely interested in bird 

 study, gathering much data and many specimens from his home locality at 

 Mt. Carmel, 111. When about 17 years of age, he decided to take his col- 

 lection to Washington and show it to the scientists at the Smithsonian 

 Institution. As a result of this visit he never returned to Illinois to reside 

 permanently, and he has given 50 years of active service to ornithology. 

 He has repeatedly refused offers of positions in other lines of work with 

 larger salaries, because of his love for the field of work he chose when 

 a boy. 



Mr. Ridgway now spends a portion of each year at Olney, 111., where 

 he has an eight acre tract of woodland which, out of the richness of 

 his knowledge, has been adapted to the requirements of his bird friends. 

 There he labors toward the completion of his great work, "Birds of North 

 and Middle America," which when finished will be the most complete work 

 ever written on the bird life of this continent. 



It was a very pleasant experience to learn of the appreciation of those 

 who prize him both for his delightful personality and his marvelous 

 knowledge of birds. 



