The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1913-12-19
FORM BIRD CLUBS. CHILDREN

| Oh DCCCmUcT we C6IeDrdLe Ar
Dor Day." All over the country the
children will set out trees. These
trees, If they grow, will be hotels
and tenements for the birds. No one
can love and appreciate trees with
out at the same time loving the in
habitants of trees Birds and trees
go together" as one of our CORE
spondents reminds US, and they
come" together, too.
With the increase of trees come
more birds, and with the increase of
birds comes the decrease of de-
structive insects and pests. 1t isles
timated that Georgia loses something
like $40,000,000 a year by these
wicked little powers of prey.
Now, the school children ali over
the country are forming bird clubs
These bird clubs are a great help to
! the birds, because the children feed
them and give them water in win
ter, which encourages them to live
and work the harder and the more
| numerously in the spring when the
worms and the bugs begin to plan
their mischief.
What's to prevent the Augusta
school children from joining in this
great work? In the first place, it is
really big, helpful work which will
make our great State richer and
more prosperous, and in the second
place it isn't work at all, because it
is just the incest kind of play and
full of fascination and delight. The
members of one of these Northern
bird clubs are planning to give the
birds Christmas tree.
If possible, they get an evergreen
tree, but this is not so easy in the
snow-clad North, so when the chill.
dren cannot get an evergreen tree
they take some other kind of tree and
deck it thickly with sheaves of
wheat, stalks of corn and punches of
evergreen leaves. They make the
tree dense so that the birds will find
sheltr in it and then they hang it
with rich presents. In cocoanut
shells they place seed and grains
and SUSPEND the shells from the
chanches. Then they make little
sheltered homes for the birds of
boxes with the fronts cut away and
the backs turned to the prevailing
winds. They put all sorts of food in
these, too, such as cracked corn, sun
flower seed, grains and salt. Duogh-
nuts and cakes are also hung on the
trees, and to keep the cats from get
ting the birds a band of tin or an
arrangement of wire is placed around
the trunk.
Wherever these trees were put up
last year thousands of birds visited
thin and the school children had the
pleasure of watching them and not
ing their habits and natures. After
Christmas the tree is still kept, 50
that the birds will continue to find
food and shelter there.
Another pretty custom which these
bird clubs are introducing is to deco
rate the windows and porches with
eyergreens and suspend bird food in
little net bags among the leaves and
above them, from the window case
ment, or the top of the porch. The
green attracts the birds and when
they find the Christmas cheer which
awaits them there is great rejoicing.
AS an indication of how we'll worth
while it is to spend a little care and
trouble on the bird in winter are
these notes from nature student of
what these bands of unorganized la
Dor do for us in the summer:
"Our hours" he says, "are moth
ing to the birds. Some birds work
in the summer nineteen hours a day.
Indefatigably they clear the crops
of insects.
"The thrush gets up at half-past 2
every summer morning. He rolls I'D
his sleeves and falls to work at once,
and he never stops until half-past 9
at night. A clean nineteen hours.
During that time he feeds his vo-
racious young 200 times
"The blackbird starts work at the
same hour as the thrust, but he lays
off earlier. His whistle blows at
half-past Z, and during his seven
hour day he sets about one hundred
meals before his kiddies.
"The titmouse is up and about at
3 in the morning, and his stopping
time is 8 at night. A fast worker,
the titmouse is said to feed his young
AIT meals-meals of caterpillar
mainly-is the long, hard, hot day"
Let us have bird clubs here in Au-
gusta, among the school children.
The Christmas season is the time to