The Colfax Chronicle

Feed Hungry Birds.

Deprived of Sustenance by Snow Storms, Many Perish.

Mrs. Ella Flagg Young, Superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, Urges Children to Scatter Crumbs--Others Indorse Plan.

Chicago.--Take one slice of bread, crumble it between the thumb and fingers, scrape a small patch clear of snow on the window ledge, on the back porch or in the back yard, scatter the crumbs and then retire to a safe distance and watch the eager, half-starved birds flock in.

This is the entire equipment and manual of rules for the very latest idea in winter sports, launched in Chicago, and from a hurried investigation it promises soon to have greater vogue than either golf or bicycling did in their palmiest days. Moreover, it is likely to return to favor every time Chicago has an old-fashioned winter.

That birds, pecking hopefully, but without result, in the huge snow drifts that cover their supply of food, are dying of starvation by the score every day in our city streets is the situation that has been brought home to Chicagoans. Many people have joined the game and Mrs. Ella Flagg Young, superintendent of public schools, promises that plans to teach the rules to the school children of Chicago will have her hearty sympathy.

She characterized the idea as beautiful and said that it would be called to the attention of the school teachers of Chicago at the earliest opportunity.

Mrs. Young was busily engaged in going over the school budget and had left orders not to be disturbed, but she laid aside her work long enough to say:

"Such a means of bringing the children to think of the suffering which the birds must go through is beautiful," she said. "This furnishes an excellent opportunity for that thoughtfulness for dumb creatures which we are trying to teach the children."

Mrs. Cy De Vry, wife of the keeper of Lincoln park zoo, has supported a flock of 20 birds for the last two months and probably is qualified as an expert at the game.

"It is certainly true that the birds in Chicago are undergoing terrible suffering just now," she said. "There is hardly a day now that I do not see one or more on the streets that has died of starvation. The reason is not only the depth of the snow, but the frequent storms have kept everything the birds might eat completely covered up.

"I try to feed the birds at the same hours every day. I don't know how it is, but these birds can tell when it is the proper time. If I happen to be a little late one big fellow will come and tap on the window with his bill. I think there are about 18 or 20 in the flock that comes to my window now. I stand behind the curtain and watch and if people knew how much pleasure and satisfaction it brings more of them would do it.

"My flock attracts a good deal of attention in the neighborhood, but I do not see very much inclination to follow my example. Everybody has some little scraps of food that go to waste and would do a world of good to the birds if they would only take the trouble to put them out."

Prof. F. C. Baker, of the Academy of Sciences, declared there would be much greater suffering among the birds when they start to come north in the spring and that some of the most beautiful and desirable varieties of our summer songsters are likely to perish by thousands at this period.

"A late sleet or snow storm freezes over the ground and they die in flocks," he said. "They undoubtedly suffer greatly and if large numbers of people would leave bread crumbs and other eatables where the songsters could get at them they undoubtedly would save a very large number of valuable birds."