156 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [16:4— April, 1920 



protecting feeding tables from cats. 



To awaken interest in the economic value of birds the following 

 divisions into topics is suggested: 



The bird friends of the garden. 



The birds feeding upon the insects that attack forest trees. 



The birds that protect shade trees. 



The good work of the birds in orchards. 



The bird friends of the meadows and planted crops. 

 In connection with these topics there should be exhibits, the 

 simplest of which would consist of colored outlines of the birds in 

 water color mounted together for each group. A valuable addition 

 to the exhibit would be a short description of what each bird does 

 and a collection of insects, or their pictures which it destroys. 



The birds which do damage should also be studied. There 

 might be a debate on the following topics: 



Does the crow do as much good as harm to the farmer ? 



Do the robins and catbirds do enough good to compensate for 

 the fruit which they eat ? 



Do the insects destroyed by the English sparrows thru feeding 

 their nestlings compensate for the damage they do in other 

 respects ? 



To keep the year's work closely connected with field observa- 

 tion, the wood warblers may be studied. This should be regular, 

 weekly work during the year. Outlines of the birds should be 

 colored and a study of their habits be made so as to be ready for 

 profitable observation of the birds during the short time that most 

 of them remain with us during the spring migration. 



EIGHTH GRADE 



The game birds, the laws for their protection and bird reserva- 

 tions and sanctuaries should be given attention in the eighth grade 

 and in Junior High School. In connection with the game birds, 

 the hawks and owls their natural enemies should be studied. 



At least twenty-five or thirty game birds should be learned by 

 the pupils so that they may be readily identified. The best 

 method of accomplishing this is to color the outlines from the very 

 excellent colored pictures now available ; this should be done at the 

 rate of at least one per week and should include a study of the 

 bird's habits. Tables for identification which should include males 

 and females and the places where they would naturally be seen 



