42 THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 



News From The Field 



BLOOMINGTON: With reference to the Park owned by McLean 

 County, Mr. Spencer Ewing of Bloomington writes : 



"West Park, a tract of forty acres, was given to McLean County by 

 Simeon H. West a few years ago and accepted by the board of supervisors 

 as a County Park. It consists of a tract of rolling land, heavily wooded 

 with the original forest timber which has never been cut over. It has 

 been put under the State law as a game preserve in order to make it a 

 sanctuary for bird life. Nothing has been done to the tract except for 

 its protection and I do not know of any movement on foot to do anything 

 with it except to keep it as a County Park. It is about sixteen miles from 

 Bloomington and is not very frequently visited ; but in my opinion should 

 have some sort of expert supervision in regard to the preservation of the 

 timber." 



Perhaps some of our readers in McLean County will be able to 

 prepare for publication in our next Bulletin a check list of trees and shrubs 

 in West Park and a list of birds found nesting there. Would it not be 

 feasible to organize a McLean County Bird Club representing every Town- 

 ship in the County? Such an organization might well give special attention 

 to West Park and its possibilities in adding to the wealth of bird life in 

 the area. 



EDWARDSVILLE : Members of the Monday Club, several hundred 

 school children and others composed a very interested audience at the 

 Wildey Theatre one afternoon in February when Prof. T. E. Musselman of 

 Gem City Business College, Quincy, 111., gave an illustrated talk of birds. 

 The enthusiasm occasioned by this lecture carried over into the practical 

 activity of bird house building. Representatives of several of the churches 

 formed a committee to interest the boys in the study of the birds and assist 

 them in providing more comfortable homes. At the suggestion of Mr. Alton 

 L. Logan, a contest in bird house building was inaugurated. Blue prints 

 were made of birds houses suitable for the different birds that nest in 

 and near Edwardsville and were posted in the Sunday-schools and some of 

 the business houses. One of the hardware stores gave up a show window 

 for the display. Prizes were offered and the newspapers of the city gladly 

 gave publicity to the contest. The contest came to a close on April 7th 

 and cash prizes and prizes consisting of a tool chest, a camera, etc., were 

 awarded to the winners. Already plans for a contest for another year are 

 being matured. 



CARTHAGE : The head of the department of Botany at Carthage 

 College, Prof. Frank C. Gates, offers an extra course in bird study which is 

 proving a popular feature of college work there. A group of twenty-seven 

 students is taking the work, one of whom is beginning major work in birds 

 this year. A report of field observations made by members of this class 

 appears elsewhere in this Bulletin. 



HINSDALE: The Hinsdale Bird Study Club (Junior Audubon) is 

 endeavoring to do its share in the good work by putting up notices and pro- 

 viding baths for the birds in summer, and feeding stations and shelters in 

 the winter, and by interesting others in this same work. The members 



