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Show f& Jt LJwl WJ Sidelights and searchlight I flPI " WV ON PUBLIC MEN ANp.tyENT5 OjL ' V I Washington. Can you bellovo I there are 'kiddles who never saw a I bird's nest? Thcro are thousands I of thorn right In New York City, ac cording to T. Gllbort Pearson, sec-rotary sec-rotary of tho National Association of Audubon Societies. Thero are Now York children who perhaps never saw any kind of tho bird except tho English sparrow, or niaybo a pigeon. To teach these children that thero aro birds of beautiful plumngo that fly and sing, build nests, lay beautifully beauti-fully colored eggs and hatch tiny birds, tho Junior Audubons, tho nanio under which children mombers of tho National Association of Audubon Audu-bon Societies aro known, havo, In some parts of tho country, started a plan to show tho llttlo "shut-Ins" of New York hospitals and other Instl-i tutlona how theso llttlo nests aro made. Many Junior Audubon3 living In rural districts, last fall, collected tho deserted nects of dlfferont kinds of birds. They then took tho colored bird pictures which Mr. Parson sends them as soon ns they become members, mem-bers, mado "cut-outs" of them, put tho bird on its no3t and sent tho nest to New York hospitals whero llttlo sick and crippled children aro confined. con-fined. "Tho happiness that tho Bight of tho llttlo homos of tho feathered songsters brought to tho palo faced llttlo sufferers was a Joy to behold," Mr. Parson said. "It was pathetic to realize," said ho, "that theso little children, who nover had tho benefit of tho fields and fresh nlr, had novor seen tho nest of a bird." Thero wero 205,000 children In 9,000 bird clubs, last year. They studied tho habits of bird3 from the Illustrated pamphlets thoy received from tho Audubon Societies when they paid tholr ten cents and became Junior Audubons, but this Junior work cost tho association $25,000 moro than tho amount of theso fees. They also rccolved a little mombor-shlp mombor-shlp button. Tho school teachers who enrolled them received '-'Dlnl Lore," tho Illustrated publication of tho Audubon Societies. Theso llttlo bird protectors, last year, built more than 175,000 bird boxes. Somo of thoso thoy sold and sent tho monoy to sick soldiers In Kuropo. They fed millions of birds, somo of tho clubs having bird tag days to ralso monoy to buy food for the birds during tho snowy season. A report from a Memphis, Tenn., member says thero wero a thousand Junior Audubons In that vicinity and that hunters can no longer vlolato tho law without finding somo"klddy" pooping at him. Tho children havo Induced their mothers In many cases to quit wearing bird feathers on their hats, Mr. Pearson Fays. Mr. Pearson hopes to have a half million Junior Audubons this year. Ho Is looking for 6omo kind hearted man or woman wo-man to glvo him tho money needed to securo tho additional quarter of i a million children. |