BY THE WAYSIDE 
13 
SCHOOL BRANCH DEPARTMENT 
Every Wisconsin School Branch is required to subscribe for at least one copy of BY THE WAYSIDE 
Letters for this department should be written on only 
one side of the page, should give the name, age and ad¬ 
dress of the writer, aud should be mailed by the first of 
the month; Illinois children sending to Miss Juliet 
Goodrich, 10 Astor St,, Chicago, Ill., and Wisconsin 
children to Miss Kuth Marshall, Appleton, WIs. An 
honor badge will be awarded for each state every month 
preference being given to letters about the bird study 
for the month (which is always on this page) aud to or¬ 
iginal observations. Any child who wins the honor 
badge twice will receive By The Wayside one year as a 
prize. 
The wren button, which is the badge of the Audubon 
Society, costs tvo cents, and may be bought from Miss 
Goodrich or Miss Marshall. 
Any Wisconsin School Branch may, without expense, 
have the use of the Gordon and Merrill Libraries of bird 
books, by applying to Miss Edna Edwards. Librarian, 
846 Prospect St., Appleton. 
A set of colored bird slides with a typewriter lecture 
may be rented from Prof. W. S. Marshall, 114 E. Gorham 
Street. Madison, Wis. 
Illinois Schools, may use. without expense, a library 
or a lecture with lantern slides, by applying to Mrs. 
Buthven Deane, 504 N. State St., Chicago. 
Miss Edna Edwards librarian, will act 
as secretary of the Children’s Department 
and editor of the Wayside for the corning 
school year. After June tenth all com¬ 
munications may be sent to her at 
Appleton. 
Summer Bird Work. 
The Wisconsin Secretary wishes again 
to offer a prize of a bird book to the 
boy or girl who will write the best letter 
containing original observations made 
this summer in The study of birds. 
Many of our young Wayside readers 
have put up bird houses to tempt the 
birds to build near their homes. Some 
( are watching the nest building in other 
places. Here are chances to see the 
home life of the birds. If all of these 
observations could be written down they 
would make some good stories. Letters 
should reach By The Wayside by Sep¬ 
tember 1st. 
The School Branch Societies. 
The editor is glad to print such reports 
as the following. 
In behalf of the Hillside Home School 
Audubon Society I send you a report of 
our last meeting held on Arbor Day in 
connection with our Arbor and Bird Day 
exercises. We have a most enthusiastic 
society and the systematic study we 
make of birds in our regular school work 
make of our students not simply bird 
students but bird lovers as well. This 
year we have had thirty-two new mem¬ 
bers. The wearing of feathers and birds 
was presented in a manner to greatly im¬ 
press the pupils with the enormity of the 
fashion. Even our little six-year old Mary 
was greatly shocked the next Sunday to 
see in church a lady with two gull 
wings upon the hat. Verily—“A little 
child shall lead them.” 
From Superior the editor-has this very 
encouraging letter: 
I am sending you the signatures of 
our forty-eight new members from the 
primary grade. The Nelson Dewey 
Audubon Society now has four hundred 
and five members. I have charge of it 
and interest the primary children each 
year. (I teach the first B grade.) Then 
we have one general meeting each year 
in the high school assembly room at 
which time each grade contributes a 
number to the musical and literary pro¬ 
gram and we have one speaker from out¬ 
side. This plan has been followed for 
the past three years. Mr. U. E. McCas- 
kill of the Superior State Normal School 
has been the one to make the address 
each year, speaking on some phase of the 
subject of birds. 
The Elkhart Lake schools are doimr 
good work under the leadership of Miss 
Ida Diehl; they have a total member¬ 
ship of 146. At Heller, A. M. Bessey 
