BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



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out of doors, and the first-named supply illustra- 

 tions that are certainly original. Eaton Socon 

 would stand higher if their cleverness — for clever 

 they are — were less exclusively the erudition of in- 

 dustrious readers ; next year it is hoped that they 

 will back it up with field study. Clophill and 

 Ashton, both boys and girls, even though they 

 make mistakes, indicate genuine interest and 

 intelligence, and ought to persevere ; and a good 

 word must likewise be given to Woburn, Biggles- 

 wade (where a little more sympathy might be 

 cultivated), Studham (where, however, there is 

 bad confusion between the House- and Hedge- 

 Sparrows), Barton Manor, and Kensworth. 



Here is a suggestive extract from one of the 

 Ashton essays : — 



" The neighbourhood of Dunstable is noted for 

 its skylarks. They are caught in large nets, often 

 carried by two men. Professional ' larkers ' start 

 their occupation about seven o'clock at night, and 

 do not cease before one or two in the morning. 

 During that time they can catch from 300 to 400 

 larks. These are sent to London, some alive in 

 cages, and some dead ready to be sold in the 

 poultry shops. It is reported that about 50,000 

 larks from Dunstable are sent to London annually." 



HAMPSHIRE. 

 Hampshire gave great difficulty to the judges, the 

 three schools placed first being of singularly even 

 merit. The Bitterne Park girls, however, besides 

 showing keen personal observation in their bird 

 essays, sent exceedingly good Tree papers, with 

 admirable drawings, and are awarded the Shield, 

 The bird papers from Western School, Southampton, 

 are remarkably full, correct, and painstaking, with 

 indications of careful note-taking ; so, too, among 

 the Tree papers, is that on the sycamore. The 

 Sandown (National) boys, if less detailed, give 

 highly intelligent, clear, and accurate descriptions 

 in their own words of both birds and trees, well 

 illustrated. After careful consideration the second 

 prize goes to the latter. Bitterne, Southampton 

 (National Boys'), send capital essays on birds, but 

 transgress the rules in giving only one on trees. 

 St. Peter's, Bournemouth (Girls'), are highly 

 meritorious both in matter and manner, the Night- 

 jar being particularly good. Portchester is a new 

 entrant of considerable merit, and will no doubt do 

 better still next time ; they have made good use of 

 books, and should now study birds (free birds) for 

 themselves. The Ventnor (Girls') papers are very 

 prettily written and sincere, the birds better than 

 the trees ; and Cowes distinctly deserves com: 



mendation. North Stoneham's trees are good, but 

 the papers on birds indicate want of sympathy. 

 Hayling, with considerable evidence of genuine 

 observation (Nightjar notably good), but sending in 

 too many essays ; New Milton (very nice little 

 essays) ; Newchurch, Hinton Ampner, Barton 

 Stacey, and Whitsbury are all promising. If any 

 doubt is felt as to the fairness of comparing the 

 work of quick town-bred boys and girls with village 

 children, it is set at rest by Privett, which comes 

 near to taking a very high place indeed. Most of 

 the papers it sends are delightful reading for their 

 enthusiasm and originality, one little fellow, aged 

 ten, simply bubbling over with all that he has to 

 tell about the sparrow and the birch. Unfortu- 

 nately another competitor has taken passages word 

 for word from a book, and thus let down the team. 

 Headley also gives good testimony to country in- 

 telligence, particularly in the essays on Plover and 

 Starling-. 



WESTMORLAND. 

 The competition in Berkshire and Westmorland is 

 much smaller than in the counties already men- 

 tioned, but the merits of the schools which held the 

 Shields for 1904, and again take them, reach a high 

 standard, and their manifest enthusiasm should 

 spread to other schools in the counties. All the 

 Westmorland essays indeed are so good that one 

 can but suppose there is material to hand for the 

 making of young naturalists elsewhere in the 

 county. Warcop's compositions are astonishingly 

 elaborate and finished performances, doing full 

 justice to the careful study of nature that has been 

 for some years a feature of the school. Beetham's 

 essays are all good also ; if two others had been on 

 the same level with those on the Skylark and 

 Kingfisher, the Shield would have gone to this 

 school. Heversham's more youthful team ought to 

 be winners one of these days, their work is so 

 genuine and spontaneous. 



BERKSHIRE. 

 In Berkshire, Buckland School stands head and 

 shoulders above its competitors, these essays 

 comparing favourably with any in the whole com- 

 petition ; they are admirable in every respect, 

 models of what such essays should be. Clewer 

 comes second (the Wagtail and Scarlet Oak papers 

 the best) ; and Burghfield also deserves com- 

 mendation, though the too frequent allusions to 

 the caging of birds suggest that caged birds rather 

 than free may have I een studied. 



