4 
among the masses of the people. It had been suggested that one 
way of promoting a better feeling among children with regard to 
the objects of nature would be the establishment of a “ Bird and 
Arbor Day ” in every parish* after the example of the United 
States of America, Canada, and some of our Australian colonies. 
He had only one suggestion to make and that was that the term 
should be a “ Bird and Tree Day ” rather than a “ Bird and Arbor 
Day.*’ The word “ Arbor ” would not convey to the English mind 
what it conveyed to the American mind. We had learned a great 
deal from our American brethren, but we need not go so far as to 
adopt their language. 
He had been reading two most interesting essays on the subject 
of a “ Bird and Arbor Day,” and he was delighted to see that one 
was written by his friend Mr. Till, a gentleman who was always 
foremost in doing good to the schools of the people. 
He hoped that if the “ Bird and Arbor Day ” was adopted, it 
would occur on a Saturday, for he always hesitated as a humble 
servant of the Board of Education to give his approval to anything 
which involved any change in the existing law. It was suitable 
that the bird and the tree should be associated, for the tree was 
the home of the bird and often provided the bird with food. 
Besides this, birds and trees occupied a very large place in the 
surroundings of the rural child, and, in his opinion, the education 
of a child should be based upon his surroundings. Such teaching 
would stimulate the observation and cultivate the intelligence of 
the child, and if it was carried out life in the country might be 
rendered more attractive to the rural population. 
Mr. Montagu Sharpe, in seconding the report, expressed the 
thanks of the Society to Sir George Kekewich for coming to take 
the chair and giving the meeting the most interesting and in¬ 
structive address which he had just delivered. The suggestions 
which Sir George Kekewich had made were eminently practical 
and were entirely in accord with the objects which the Committee 
of the Society had in view. 
Alluding to various points in the report, he remarked that that 
document was one of which he felt very proud, for nobody could 
say that the Society was a mere paper Society. It was doing good 
hard practical work and producing, he believed, good results 
throughout the country. He had nothing to report in the way of 
legislation. They all knew what Parliament was, and it was not 
necessary for him to say anything more about that point. Their 
Bill of last year, like some unfortunate birds, was massacred, and 
this year they had not reintroduced it. They had, however, 
thought it desirable that a short Bill of one clause should be 
introduced, providing that rare birds that were illegally shot should 
be forfeited and should not become the property of the people who 
killed them. The skins of such birds were sometimes very valuable 
