24 Bird Day Book 



by diminishing the returns from our lands; and birds as a class can 

 be made even more useful to us if we take the trouble to learn their 

 habits, their foods, etc. 



The teachers of Alabama, by observing Bird Day in their schools, 

 can be of invaluable aid in instructing the children of our State 

 relative to the benefits derived from bird life. As you know, the 

 tending of a flower bed, the training of a vine, the planting of a tree, 

 the tender care bestowed upon it, the eager watching for new devel- 

 opments in its growth, create an interest in it ; so also with the study 

 of birds. The building of bird-houses, the encouraging of birds to 

 live in them, the love-making of the mates, the sight of the young 

 birds in the nest, all engender a love for them, and will for many a 

 child prove "the open seasame" into the changed circle of those 

 forces of the out-door world which purify, refine and ennoble the 

 heart of man, and give a sense of ownership that causes the pupil to 

 feel that he is an integral part of that world. 



