82 
BY THE WAYSIDE 
picture, describe its habits, food, home, 
etc. Make picture of its nest.) 
Recitation—Mv Robin. 
Song—The Birds’ Lullaby. 
Chase School, Chicago. 
Dear Wavside: 
It is now eight or ten years since the 
Chase School began active work in the 
Audubon Society. The necessity of some 
concerted action came to me on seeing 
the ruthless destruction of birds by boys 
using sling-shots. 
In talking with many boys, I discovered 
that they killed them, not with anv 
malice toward the birds, but merely be¬ 
cause they had never given the matter 
any thought. 
So one day, with Miss Drummond’s 
help in furnishing blanks, we started in, 
and alter a short talk in each room, we 
soon had enthusiastic signers. 
I found that the average teacher was 
as ignorant of the names and character¬ 
istics of the common birds as the chil¬ 
dren. So we sent to Mr. Lawson, 
Taxidermist, Geneva, Ill., and bought 
about two dozen of the most common 
birds stuffed, and we have since added 
to our stock. 
The acquaintance thus formed with a 
lew birds led to excursions to the parks 
and woods. And it has been very pleas- 
ing to find the interest in birds growing 
with the teachers, until now the majoritv 
have become quite specialists, not only 
in birds but in trees which naturally go 
with them. 
I rom time to time a room has a bird- 
dav program. The teacher decorates her 
room with plants, flowers, pictures and 
birds. Then come songs, recitations, 
quotations and short plays all about birds 
or nature in some form. 
Recently room 2 under direction of 
Miss Ida Stewart, had a most inspiring 
program, as follows: 
1. Short quotations relating to spring 
and birds. 
2. Composition: Value of Birds. 
3. Composition: Migration of Birds. 
3. Recitation: In the Spring, William 
Welsley Martin. 
o. Song: Coda 197, The Shower (From 
II Trovatore) 
b. The Birds of Killingworth, Long¬ 
fellow. 
i. Jims Babies, from Nestlings of 
Forest and Marsh, by Irene Grosvener 
Wheelock, (In pupils’ own words.) 
8. Thoughts for a Discouraged 
Farmer, James Whitcomb Riley. 
9. The Scarecrow. Wallace Mather. 
10. The Sparrow. D. S. Pickley. 
Our Friends the Birds, By Caroline H. 
Parker, Flanagan, publisher, was used 
for many of the quotations. 
The teachers in several rooms have the 
children to form themselves into clubs 
for observation and study. These clubs 
were originated by Dr. Anna Holmes as 
was also the idea of their naming and the 
badges. They consist of not more than 
six or seven pupils, as that is as many as 
can profitably go birding together. 
Children need a visible symbol, so our 
pupils have badges of ribbons the colors 
of the bird for which their club is named, 
so that wherever we see a boy or girl 
with yellow and brown ribbon on, °we 
know that they belong to the Meadow¬ 
lark Club; if red and black, they are 
Scarlet Tanagers, etc. Then the Audu- 
