NATURAL HISTORY. 



3°3 



monkey house and antelope house are 

 erected at an early date, the Zoological 

 Park will then be able to receive and care 

 for any animal that may be offered to it. 



When the Zoological Park is ready for 

 animals, all members of the Society, ancl 

 all friends who are not, will be expected 

 and requested to do their utmost to secure, 

 as gifts for the Park, a large and continuous 

 supply of fine, typical quadrupeds, birds 

 and reptiles, especially of North American 

 forms. 



SHALL WE HAVE BIRD DAYS? 



Washington, D. C. 



Editor Recreation: In an article un- 

 der the above heading in February Rec- 

 reation Dr. G. A. Mack takes occasion 

 to deride the " well meaning but misguided 

 people " who are advocating bird days in 

 the schools. 



While sympathizing most heartily with 

 Dr. Mack in his desire for bird protection, 

 and in his denunciation of the scourge of 

 egg collecting, I feel that in justice a few 

 words should be said against his views of 

 bird day, for in treating of this subject he 

 clearly shows himself a " well meaning but 

 misguided " individual, though of a dif- 

 ferent sort from those against whom he 

 protests. Dr. Mack is evidently not aware 

 of the fact that " bird day " is already ob- 

 served in many schools in our country, and 

 in some States is authorized by law; and 

 he has not taken the trouble to look up 

 the results of the experiment, merely stat- 

 ing his opinion without any investigation 

 of the question. Having for the past sev- 

 eral years been in communication with 

 thousands of people interested in all phases 

 of bird protection I feel qualified to ad- 

 vocate most strongly the observance of bird 

 day. The principle of bird day is not to 

 encourage the study of an " ology," as Dr. 

 Mack seems to think; but to encourage the 

 protection of birds; and the first thing that 

 is impressed on the minds of the children 

 is that the bird's song means, as Dr. Mack 

 says, " Look at us, listen to us, love us, 

 and let us alone." 



No advocate of bird day ever encouraged 

 egg collecting, and the result of the ob- 

 servance has been to deter egg collecting 

 on the part of boys. If Dr. Mack was un- 

 able to prevent his boys from collecting 

 birds' eggs, it does not follow that others 

 have not been more successful; and bird 

 day has been instrumental in stopping 

 many a would be collector. Boys are not 

 brought to know of the existence of birds 

 and birds' eggs by the observance of bird 

 day. Every boy knows what a bird is by 

 the time he goes to school. Simultane- 

 ously he seems to learn from some source 

 or other that a bird is created to be killed, 

 <md his first sling-shot, air gun or rifle is 

 Drought to bear on it, in consequence. 



It is to counteract this idea of the bird 

 that bird day is advocated, and experience 

 has shown that its influence is excellent. 

 So that to-day every lover of birds, es- 

 pecially readers of Recreation, should use 

 their influence in behalf of bird day in the 

 schools. It is the object of its promoters 

 to instruct children not only in the use and 

 importance of protecting small birds, but 

 in the object of game laws and the neces- 

 sity for their enforcement. The impor- 

 tance of this goes without saying. 



It is claimed with justice that it is not 

 worth while to devote one day to trees and 

 another to birds, and in some States, 

 notably Wisconsin, arbor and bird days are 

 combined with excellent results. 



To ridicule arbor day as Dr. Mack has 

 done serves no purpose but to hinder the 

 work of many of those who are laboring so 

 hard for the preservation of our forests. 

 The failures of the exercises to which he 

 alludes are in no sense an index of the 

 results of the observation. 



Dr. Mack's ridicule of ornithologists is 

 equally narrow minded and shows that he 

 has confused scientists with egg-hogs. 



Perhaps he has never known any true 

 ornithologist — a class who are among the 

 foremost advocates of bird protection and 

 game preservation, 



Witmer Stone, 

 Chairman American Ornithologists' Union 



Committee on Bird Protection. 



YES, BY ALL MEANS. 



Madison, Wis. 



Editor Recreation: In the February 

 issue of your valuable magazine G. A. 

 Mack asks " Shall we have bird days? " 

 No doubt Dr. Mack means well, and al- 

 though I heartily agree with him on a great 

 many points, I believe in " bird days." 



It is true that from the way most arbor 

 day exercises are carried on in the public 

 schools little " boon to a deforested world " 

 will ever result. Yet, let them be carried 

 on in a proper way and the good that may 

 result will soon manifest itself. In an un- 

 dertaking of the nature of bird and forest 

 protection people must be made to under- 

 stand that, sooner or later, such under- 

 takings are going to produce good pe- 

 cuniary results. If once it becomes evident 

 to the general public that the destruction 

 of the birds and forests means a financial 

 loss, they will soon begin to take effective 

 measures. The public schools are educat- 

 ing and bringing up a new generation. 

 What better place can be found in which 

 to teach this new generation the value of 

 forest and bird protection? A day set aside 

 for this purpose should be celebrated with 

 a view to teaching the younger children to 

 love birds and trees, and the older ones the 

 economical value of them. 



Dr. Mack asks how many birds would 



