Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-03-14
Bird Day ia the schse,s.

The Conservative. a Nebraska City
weekly paper edited by j. Sterling
Morton. contains in recent issue
long plea for the addition of Bird day
to the school calendar. The article
first appeared among the departmental
reports at Washington in 1896 and IS
reprinted for the purpose of directing
attention anew to the subject.
c. A. Babcock. superintendent of
schools at Oil City. Pa, is credited
with being the originator of the idea of
Bird day. He wrote to Mr.. Morton in
1894 urging the establishment of such
day on the same gen.
eral plan as Arbor day, and
his suggestion met with the hearty
approval of the then secretary of agri-
culture. who was himself the founder
of Arbor day. May of the same year
Oil City gratified the wishes Of its
school superintendent by giving effect
10 his idea This was the first Bird
day. and. according to the testimony
of the Journal of Education. it was OBJ
served in the Oil City schools with a
degree of enthusiasm which was good
to see. The amount of information
about birds that was collected by the
children was simply amazing. Original
compositions We're read, informal dis
cussions We're held. talks by teachers
were given and the birds in literature
were not forgotten or overlooked"
Subsequent observances were equal
" successful: a similar movement was
started in Iowa, and in other states
there was an awakening of interest on
the subject. 1t engaged the sympa-
thies of the crusaders, who deplOre the
sacrifice of birds to millinery. and of
those who would check the murderous
and predatory instincts Of small boys.
but there has as yet been no such gen.
eral support of Bird day as has been
accorded to Arbor day.
Time, however. might well be spared
to it. both because of the instruction
and the pleasure it would bring. We
have seen how the young ornithol-
| ogists of Oil City astonished their
| teachers with the knowledge of bird
\ lore which they had acquired for the
occasion. Professor c.. H. Morrill,. SUI
perintendent of schools at Fort Madi-
son. Iowa. dwells upon the bright and
cheerful features Of the festival. In
describing his first experiment with II
he comments on the lively interest
manifested by the children and says:
They brought their pet birds, they
decorated the rooms with flowers and
| green branches, they Ornamented the
boards with drawings of birds, birds
nests, flowers, etc. The buildings rams
with bird music all day, the children
were happier than ever before, and
visitors came until standing space in
many of the rooms was at a pre-
MUM"
| Here we notesa stimulus that Is a
real Inspiration to study. Tiresome
4 routine makes way for series of OBJ
ject lessons in the preparation fol
/ which the youthful demonstrators
have had their faculties Of observation
exercised to the utmost. In larger
cities the study of bird life might be
made in the parks and in those de-
lightful books of which the publishers
are so lavish nowadays. Never was
there time before when chtldrer
could get at SO many charming ana 2 I
tractive volumes on any branch o.
natural history. never time when s.
much was done in literature to correc
the ignorance that has attacked ths
feathered allies of, men In neld ant
forest as IL they were enemies. II IS
good work that deserves the genera
establishment of Bird day to furtnel
it's obiect.-Chicago Times Herald.