The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1908-02-20
Birds Need Child Help.

School Army Enlisting 70 Save Crop
Guards = Movement of Young
Folks May Do What Adults Still
Try What Children Can Accom-
plish Toward Protecting Our
Feathered Friends.
New York, Feb. 15.-On the eigh-
teen million school children III this
country final hope of averting the
extinction OF the valuable species OF
insectiverOus birds in America has
been rested to-day. What the feder-
al government, the state legislatures
and even the grange, womcn's clubs
or national commercial OrganaZa-
tions have failed to accomplish com
pletely, the National Association of
Audubon Societies have announced
will he now given to the children of
thd land to bring about. To organ
ize every body OF pupils, from the
/ largest public school in this city to
the most remote district school ON
+! the Pacific Coast, into general
movement for housing, feeding and
protecting the wild birds that save
the country's crops is the object oi
the Audubon workers to-day.
General headquarters for this new
campaign OF the children are being
established in the offices OF the Ma
tioEal Association OF Audubon So
cieties at III Broadway to-day. Al
ready the organization is in toucn
with thousands of teachers and girls
and BOYS clubs all over the country
to which it has regularly sent litera-
ture on bird guarding and care
with these as Il nucleus, the child
rem are to push the fight out into
levery section of their locality, till
the members of each school in every
neighbOrhood are enlisted in the
lwork OF building bird houses and
restaurants to sustain the sadly
thinned ranks of the feathered army
of insect destroyers. Special ammu
milton in the form of printed drec
tions and suggestions for making
bird shelters and lunch counters i,
being prepared for every boy anC
girl who will write and ask for it.
Old kettles, boxes or milk, tomato
and Kerosene cans are being used 10y
the children as emergency bird shel
ters. Elaborate houses, rustic imi
tations of hollow limbs and neatl,
furnished apartments are also being
tplanned. All must be made cat
rproof and should face to the Soutl
or West ii possible. Like any human
married couple, the ,feathered pai
who are seeking quarters FOR rearing
their family in the Spring are quit,
partiuclar in their tastes. If they
find no promising spot for a home il
any locality, they will pass on ant
leave its fields and gardens at th'
mercy of destructive insects. ThC
children are urged to the immediate
building OF houses for this season.
bird families, because seasoned anC
weatherbeaten structures most quick
Iy tempt he birds when Spring NOV
ing day comes.
The march OF civilization has
robbed millions OF useful, as wei
slightly and tuneful, birds of theil
old-time facilities for home making
OrnithOlogists here declared to-day
Sheltering tree trunks are being LAID
low every year over hundreds o
acres. The old-fashioned structures
where birds might flock under oper
caves, are being replaced by modern
roofs that shut out bird life Whole
races, like tho Chimney Swifts, are
being deprived OF their shelter in th'
big. Old-style chlmneys. Such cOndi
tiOns. with lax laws for spring shoot
ing and pot-hnnting, will soon driv,
the valuable insect-caters to eXtinc
ton, it is agreed. II will be tn,
children work TO house the evicteC
birds at the time when they not only
rear their young but eat most copi
ously OF the insect crop-destroyers.
| "The children are now the great
factor in this great economic move
ment", said William butcher, presi
dent OF the National Association o
Audubon Societies to-day. Not
only their patriotism but the self-in
terest Of every one Of their parents
is the motive for preventing the ex
tinction of the beautiful and highl,
valuable birds Of this country. w
are calling on Congress, the legisla
lures OF the entire country and OF
every adult body to help; but / he
lieve the work Of the school children
OF the land will accomplish mor'
than all the other methods com
lhined. 1t is a fine chance for ever1
boy and girl to do something for hi,
village, state and the country "a
large and ] know they will not neg
lect TO 90 their part. Save th'
birds is our motto and rally cry o
the school children OF America.