35 



Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences 



selected and clear in every detail which they are designed to de- 

 monstrate. In the concluding remarks is the statement that " the 

 Department of Agriculture invites correspondence ****** 

 and will be prepared to advise for or against any particular 

 method, so far as experience and the results of experiments will 

 permit." 



The Staten Island Bird Lovers' Club, which holds its meetings 

 in the Museum every six weeks, has inaugurated a bird house 

 contest among the grammar school pupils of the island, with the 

 dual purpose of advancing an interest in wild birds and of creat- 

 ing a supply of bird houses which may be used in an effort to 

 increase the bird population of Staten Island. 



The sum of $40.00 is to be distributed in prizes, the island 

 having been divided into four sections, each to receive one-fourth 

 of the above amount. The first premium in each division is to be 

 four dollars, the second three dollars and there will be four third 

 prizes, each to be a leather-bound edition of Reed's Pocket Bird 

 Guide. 



After the judging is done it is planned to assemble at the 

 Museum the bird houses selected for the finals. The prize win- 

 ning houses become the property of the Club, but there will be 

 nearly a hundred nesting boxes remaining and these will be offered 

 for sale to the public at the prices placed on the boxes by the 

 pupils who constructed them. Members of the Association par- 

 ticularly are invited to take advantage of this opportunity to 

 secure bird houses for use during the present nesting season. 



The bird boxes which remain at each school after the judges 

 have selected the semi-finals (five boxes from each school) should 

 be either put up in trees, woods and orchards by the children for 

 the convenience of the birds or placed on sale at each school. 

 This would result in putting to a practical use nearly every house 

 made during the competition. 



The sale of bird houses at the Museum will begin on Monday 

 May 3, and continue daily during museum hours until all the 

 houses are sold. 



Accessions to the Museum and Library have been received 

 from Frank Baker, Howard R. Bayne, N. L. Britton, Howard H. 

 Cleaves, Mrs. James Cornell, W. T. Davis, E. C. Delavan, Jr., Miss 

 Emma Durant, through C. Stuart Gager, C. S. Egbert, Arthur 

 Hollick, Raymond R. Morris, G. W. Robinson, Edward M. Stothers, 

 L. L. Tribus. 



