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THE CUCKOO 
By John Helmer 
Sumer is icumen in, 
Lhude sing cuccu! 
Groweth sed and bloweth med, 
And springth the wude nu. 
ry ssh ees bay Sing cuccu! 
The first day of May was a special holiday in ancient times, celebrated by the 
people of northern Europe as the beginning of summer. Before the printing 
of almanacs and calendars, the weeks of the year were grouped by seasons 
rather than by months. The crops were all-important, for the growing season 
was short, and around the observance of holidays was gathered much folk- 
lore about the time of the year and the weather. 
The Scandinavians knew May Day as Cuckoo Mass (Gauksmess), but 
the observance goes back to pagan rather than to Christian customs. May 
Day was: “A good day to sow; also, by listening to the cuckoo, a girl can 
learn about her prospects for marriage.’’ The calendar was a flat stick, 
called a primstav, bearing notches along the edge to mark the days and 
weeks, with holidays marked by strange, carved symbols. For the first of 
May, the symbol was a bird in a tree, as shown in the sketch above. In the 
quaint early English verse beside the symbol, an anonymous minstrel of the 
thirteenth century has recorded his impression of this bit of bird mythology. 
Early May was a time for planting, for sheep-shearing, for mending of 
fences and the turning of cattle out to pasture. This was a joyous time, 
indeed, if the shed were bare of hay. If the season seemed late in changing, 
there was nothing more reassuring than to hear the first song of the cuckoo: 
The summer is coming! 
Sing loudly, cuckoo! 
Grow, seeds, and wind, sweep the meadows. 
Let woodlands burst to new life! 
Sing, cuckoo! 
907 Neptune, Encinitas, Calif. 92024 
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The National Audubon Convention — Nov. 1964 
By Dr. Wallace W. Kirkland, Jr., Delegate 
“You are no longer a bird watchers’ club but the ecological conscience of 
society.”” We and nearly 1000 members of the National Audubon Society 
in Tucson, Arizona, at the 60th annual convention heard the two themes of 
conservation of resources, especially water in this arid climate; and the 
preservation of species, particularly the raptors of this rugged country. 
