Page:Bird-lore Vol 01.djvu/393

 The Audubon Societies 165 use of an advertising card in the street cars. One half the cards is devoted to a beautiful half-tone picture of a Wilson's Tern, and the other half to an appeal to all "Fair-minded Women." It is hoped that other societies will make use of these cards, which are suita- ble for posting in any public place, and which may be obtained from the under- signed at cost. In order to encourage the study of birds in the school, four prizes of cameras and opera glasses were recently offered by the Audubon Society and the Humane Education Committee of the S P. C. A. for the best essay upon various subjects relating to birds. The graduating classes in the fifteen grammar schools of Prov- idence were selected by the superinten- dent of schools, Dr. H. S. Tarbell, for the competition. A month of preparation was allowed, but the subjects were not given out until the hour appointed for writing the essay. About 150 of the best papers were sent to a committee of this Society, who e.- amined them and awarded the prizes. The work done by the pupils showed an amount of interest that was surprising and encouraging, and the Committee de- cided to make honorable mention of ten papers for which they awarded subscrip tions to a monthly magazine issued by one of the Humane Societies. The officers of the Audubon Society feel that a busy season has resulted in a distinct advance for the cause of the birds. Annie M. Grant, Secretary. CONNECTICUT SOCIETY The Annual Report of the Audubon Society of the State of Connecticut has been issued in pamphlet form, and will be sent to the officers of other societies upon application to the secretary. This society is in a flourishing condition, the special feature of the past year, in ad- dition to the free illustrated lectures, being the purchase of 10 Natural History libra- ries of 10 books each to be circulated in the public schools through the kind co- operation of Mr. C. D. Hine, secretary of the State Board of Education. The following letter is a part of that sent out with each library : Dear Madam: You will receive by express an Audubon Library. These books deal with natural history and particularly with birds, the ob- ject being to encourage the reading of all good books and especially to arouse interest in the nature and habits of common birds and the benefits which these birds render. The Audubon Society will be glad to receive reports from the teachers, giving an account of the use of the books, stating which are the most popular and enter- taining, in general the effect of such a library in school. The library may be kept until the end of the term. It comes to you free of expense, and when returned the express will be paid at this end. Yours truly, Connecticut Bc-^rd of Education. All of the libraries have been placed with the public-school teachers and several have written to show their appreciation and enjoyment of the books. We consider this work one of the most important we have accomplished, and hope to extend it considerably during the coming year, as there is already a demand for more books. To give greater identity each library bears the name of the American naturalist whose books are most prominent in it, or a title otherwise indicative of its contents. The Ernest Seton-Thompson Library, The John Burroughs Library, The Olive Thorne Miller Library, The Teachers' Library, The Gardencraft Library, etc. The Lecture Committee reports as fol- lows : "Last summer the two lectures illus- trated by slides which the Audubon Society had circulated during the previous year were re-used, and to the Farmers' Lecture a number of new slides were added. Also a new lecture was written and slides pre- pared by Mrs. Wright, the president of the society. This lecture was intended for little children, the subject being ' The