St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1909-04-21

at the Museum steps at seven O'Clock in
the morning. They are at the school
building ready for school at nine and
meanwhile have tramped from one to
two miles in finding the spring birds.
Anywhere from fifteen to forty birds may
be seen and heard. according to weather
conditions. Some member OF the Mu-
scum staff accompanies each expedition,
and every child is given an opportunity
to go about four times a season. FIRE.
quently, children come to the Museum
during the day to examine closely bird
that could not be seen we'll during the
morning tramp, and their interest is in
creased by small case placed in prom
lnent position near the entrance door
and containing the newest bird arrivals.
Only thirty-five specimens are allowed in
the case at once, and both children and
adults who are stud wing birds for the
first time find it far easier to identify
perplexing bird visitor from this case
than from the larger general collection.
An interesting outgrowth of the bird
walks is the Junior Audubon Society
which meets at the Museum once a
month, from January to June, in two
divisions. Each section has it's child
officers, who preside, read reports, make
motions, present literary program, and
in every way carry on the business of
society with much dignity and solemnity.
The June meeting is given to a bird
contest, for determining which child is
most thoroughly acquainted with the
birds. The prizes, ive-dollar gold pieces,
are offered by one of the bird-loving citi-
Gems of the town. For a month before
the contest every hour of the day sees
eager children in front of the bird cases,
and the words most familiar to the d.
rector are, please can you tell me what
this bird is? He has brown back" and
then follows a desert ption, remarkably
accurate when one remembers the age of
the observer, and usually the members of
the office staff, with wits sharpened by
constant guessing, are able to lead the
questloners to specimen and receive
satisfied, 'Yes, that's just the Bird"
The interest in insects is not so univer-
sal as that in birds. Still, each Septem-
Der and October sees the caterpillar
boxes well inhabited by the "crawlers"
the children have brought. These cages
are placed on tables in the main hail.
and are the center of interest during the
autumn. Caterpillars are made the SUBJ
iect OF a Museum lesson, and in prepara-
ton for it, the classes have specimens in
their schoolrooms. Here, they provide a
variety of leaf food for their captives. see
which kinds are eaten, how the creature
feeds and moves and some of them have
seen caterpillars spin cocoons or change
to chrysalis form before their wondering
eyes. After the lesson, the class adjourns
to the main hall of the Museum to in
spect the caterpillar cages. These les
sons so interest the young people that
hardly day of August and September
goes by without several crawlers being
brought to the Museum for Identification
and for information in regard to their
care. In the spring, butterflies and !
moths are brought in large numbers but
after combining these for day or so, for
purposes of observation, they are liber
ated, save in the case of some rare in
sect much needed to complete the Mu-
scum collection
One instance of the home study of in
sects may be noted: A child of ten, with
a little help from his aunt, and some
special good fortune from Dame Nature.
has followed the life cycle from caterpi-
lar to caterpillar of the white tussock
moth, keeping the second generation I'm.
til they molted for the third time.
Loan collections of minerals, birds and
insects, are sent out to the schools of St.
Johnsbury and of the surrounding
towns. The general course of study in a
grade, as well as the nature work, is
considered in making up the collections.
They are accompanied by some simple
books and are kept for term of weeks.
then returned to the Museum.
The last phase of nature-study to be
mentioned is the flower table. From the
time the first arbutus blossoms on
southern hillside, until the witch-hazel
cts tall Its crinkled yellow petals late in
the autumn, procession of wild flowers
S to be seen in the museum. The speci-
mems are arranged in clear glass vases
IN tables IN a prominent part of the hall
frequently nifty specimens are displayed
1t a time, and often all the varieties of
1ne Hover are to be seen the same day.
)ne week in May the violet table held
Welve varieties, all found within FIVE
nile radius of the Museum, and each
september fifteen goldenrods are exhibit
ID on the same table.
In the case ofrare flowers, some of the
orchids tor instance, only two or three
peclmens are displayed, often with a
abel warning the public of the danger of
gathering them in quantity and so aid.