Wellesley College - Legenda Yearbook (Wellesley, MA)

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GENERAL BULLETIN. Barn Swallows TN the dewy mornings of the early spring days of May and June, many a girl can be seen clutching her skirts in one hand, and The Land Birds of New England in the other, while she gazes at the chickadees and the blue jays pouring forth their song in the tree tops. This kind of orni- thology revives spasmodically every spring, but the interest in it is as nothing compared to that in the kind of ornithology which can be studied without opera glasses, or even without The Land Birds of New England. There are two types of birds which can be studied in this way, societas and non-societas. Of these two, the first class shows throughout its different genera : the Shake- speareana, Phi Sigma, Zeta Alpha, Tau Zeta Epsilona, Agora and Classicana, a decided conformity to type. The distinguishing mark of each animal is a small and peculiar forma- — - r - r =lr tion usually found on the ventral side of the — = animal to the left of the central axis, though in some it may occur as far down as the diaphragm. No matter where the mark occurs, it is never absent, and never fails to indicate that the bird is of the type societas. The class non-societas is much larger and displays among its individuals more marked differences. It has not been, as yet, accurately divided into genera; but one genus has been definitely determined upon — that of studiosa. It has always been thought that these animals had, in common, their kind of food. They are neither herbiverous nor carniverous, but live for the most part upon a fiendish concoction of sweets. Celebrated biologists, and even many undergraduates, have devoted much time and thought to the interesting question of the con- nection between these two types. What most puzzled them was, that by assiduous effort the type non-societas sometimes succeeded in developing one of the peculiar formations, and passed over into the type societas. Within the last six months, a new variety of bird, brought from Smith and Radcliffe, has been introduced at Wellesley. This bird, it is hoped, will prove the miss- ing link between the types societas and non-societas. The scientific name of this new species of bird is Welles- leyanae consilium bonis temporibus, studentae comraun- imis ; the common name is the Barn Swallows. These birds, beside the fudge-eating propen- sity, have much of the snakelike power of charming, though in this case they charm each other. A large number will sit for hours watching the antics of a few of the flock, who fly, jump, twitter, and cackle together, making a confused medley of Cranford, Dickens, Wonderland, Harvard.

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SECRETARY ' S BULLETIN. . ? Semester ,. -W MiSi.- - .j£ ' t?i £ -66£4 ' - ... .. k kx-sby.nstifieA 1hit she his obtaJTjeif merely pswg griie m t « .2zr,... . a a Q. . 6n.nU.-ry. Credit System When ' 98 came to college, She was so possessed of knowledge That the Faculty could teach her nothing new. We ' ll devise a scheme of credit, All that see shall come to dread it, For we ' ll guard its hidden meaning till we die. Not the grave and reverend Senior, With the cap and gown demeanor, Shall beyond the veil of credit dare to pry. Thus this system full of mystery, Worthy of the sphinx of history, Came upon us like a cloud burst from the sky. Its effects we now are feeling ; With a gracious smile concealing Fears and tremors fit to make a martyr sigh. So they sat down in despair, And they wildly tore their hair In their effort to consider what to do. Said the Council Academic, In a spirit quite polemic, We must give these brilliant maidens something more. ' • ' Now the standa rd we will raise In quite complicated ways, We will give their cramped ambition room to soar.

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These strange birds change their habitation every season. In summer they are quite domesticated, and almost become barnyard fowls ; in winter they take up their quarters in a large aviary, well provided with perches and swings. -K . ' Va,, £ Other characteristics of these birds have not been closely observed, because they are yet such a recent addition to our grounds. Hand in hand with this consideration is the fear that our well-meant efforts to observe closely their hidden anatomy will result in the flight of the birds, leaving us with an ex- tinct species as a remembrance of what has been. Our hopes and expectations are as proportionally great as our actual laboratory knowledge is small. The acme of our hope, based on the observed fact that these birds flock with both the type societas and the type non-societas, is that this Wellesleyanse consilium bonis temporibus studentae communimis may prove the missing link which will draw the two types societas and non-societas so closely together that in time both shall have the same characteristics.