THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 27 



Carthage College Wild Life Preserve includes about seven 

 a"d one-half acres of college land, to which has been added the 

 adjacent right of way along the C. B. and Q. tracks, by free lease 

 from that company. Students of the department have labored 

 faithfully to help put the place into suitable condition. The old 

 garbage dump of many years' standing has been graded, under- 

 standing trees and shrubs are being pruned, as time permits. 

 Walks will be arranged throughout the tract. A neat fence is 

 being put about it. Outdoor brick "stoves," or cooking devices, 

 on beds of sand, will protect from fires set by picnic parties. 

 Every tree and shrub group will be labelled with scientific and 

 common names, and the names of the givers. Much has been 

 begun, much must be done, to insure success. May the Pre- 

 serve prosper. 



Alice L. Kibbe 



Decatur 



Under date of March twenty-ninth, Mrs. Benjamin Bachrach 

 sends the following report : 



Decatur bird lovers report that less birds were seen in these 

 parts than in former years. The Cardinal seems to stay with us 

 throughout the year. In my own garden we see the male and fe- 

 male together as early as February. Have observed this for the 

 past three years. 



Mr. Aiken, who has a farm near the city, has a Mocking Bird 

 that spends the year near the house. 



Birds observed during the winter are: Blue Jay, Downy, 

 Hairy, and Red-bellied Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, Junco, and 

 Tree Sparrow. The birds that have arrived from the south in 

 the order of their coming are the Robin, Meadow Lark, Bluebird, 

 and the Red-headed Woodpecker, Bewick Wren. A flock of 

 Cedar Waxwings, twenty-five in number remained for a few 

 days feeding on the berries of the High Bush Cranberry. 



The interest in birds and food shelter and protection for 

 them rapidly grows a more prominent movement in Decatur ev- 

 ery season. All of the schools either study birds, make houses, 

 posters, books, poems, or erect houses on the school grounds. 

 Great numbers of Martin houses are erected every year. On our 

 new lake wild Ducks have rested for a week at a time, and we 

 have Sea Gulls and Sandpipers. Quantities of food was emptied 

 in the lake for our interesting tourists. Our bridges were lined 

 with cars and people who came out in delight to view these flocks 

 who so quickly accepted as their own this fourteen mile of water 

 that the vision and finances of Decatur, and the feat of engineer- 

 ing made possible. 



Our enemy the cat still prowls fearlessly round the city. Do 

 let us help the State Society to restrict this enemy of our 

 feathered creatures. The sparrows we are rapidly trying to 

 exterminate, as there must be at least two dozen sparrow traps 

 working in the various sections of the city. The Decatur Bird 



