THE LA RUE HOLMES NATURE LOVERS LEAGUE 



269 



La Rue Holmes Nature Lovers 

 League. 



A Prize Offer. 



All Chapters sending at least one 

 essay each month to the Secretary of 

 the Central Association during the 

 school year, will be entitled to a sub- 

 scription to Tnii Guide to Nature; for 

 one year. 



These little papers are to bear the 

 titles of the Audubon leaflets as they 

 are studied each month, and should 

 embody some of the most important 

 facts concerning' the birds represented 

 as taught by the leaflets, as well as all 

 possible points of interest connected 

 with them, obtained by original obser- 

 vation. 



The length, or literary quality of 

 such papers, will be of no especial con- 

 sideration, the object being to lead our 

 members to become familiar with at 

 least ten birds each year; to acquaint 

 them with the economic value of each 

 bird, as it has been rated by the U. S. 

 Biological Survey, and to stimulate an 

 interest in original observation. 



* * * * 



The following are the names of the 

 officers of the Alpha Auxiliary Chapter 

 recently organized at Summit, N. J. : 

 President, J. Sherman Byland ; First 

 Vice-President, Edward Whiting; Sec- 

 ond Vice-President, Norman Gardner ; 

 Secretary, Alfred C. Kinsey ; Treas- 

 urer, James Dunn. 



* * * * 



The report from the warden in 

 charge of the L. H. Nature League 

 Bird Refuge at Stone Harbor, off the 

 coast of Cape May Co., N. J., states 

 that the nesting season this year was 

 favorable for the gulls, and their num- 

 bers (so greatly depleted through the 

 slaughter inaugurated because of the 

 demand for the gull-plumage) are on 

 the increase. 



Have you kept the census of the wild 

 flowers of your locality, or of bird mi- 

 grations, during the past season? If 

 so, we would appreciate the favor of a 

 copy. 



Incentive to Tree Culture. 

 Being a nature lover yon appreciate 

 the beauty and economic value not onl> 



of the forest, but of the individual tree. 

 Did you ever consider the advisability 

 of freeing from taxes all land held 

 under forest-cover for a given term of 

 years ? 



If every tree is a unit in the vast 

 service of purifying the air : holding 

 the winds in check to save the farm- 

 ers' crops, and protect our homes, a 

 unit in maintaining the water-supply 

 of the country, why cut one down 

 needlessly for fire-wood or as a means 

 of paying taxes? 



If the water-supply, in many places, 

 is only about sufficient for the needs 

 of the population of today, what about 

 tomorrow if we continue to reduce the 

 supply by remorselessly felling timber? 



Would not the law of Germany, 

 which provides that for every tree 

 felled another must be planted, be a 

 good law to adopt for this country? 

 As men with small forest-holdings are 

 cutting off timber as a means of pay- 

 ing the taxes, would it not be well to 

 cut off the tax and save just so many 

 water-supply protectors, even if to do 

 so would involve a change in the Con- 

 stitution of the State inaugurating the 

 reform ? 



No trees means eventually no water. 

 Fewer trees means less water. Why 

 not save all the trees we can while we 

 have them, without involving the fu- 

 ture in the dilemma of planting others 

 and waiting for them to grow when 

 the cry is raised for more water? 



Why not educate every child and 

 man to see that any man, be he rich 

 or poor, who holds his timber unfelled 

 for a term of years is a public bene- 

 factor, who should be encouraged by 

 every possible means, to continue his 

 benefaction? 



Why not take off taxes from every 

 acre of land held forested for a decade, 

 all back taxes to be due if the timber 

 be prematurely cut? 



Why not save our children, and per- 

 haps ourselves, from the consequences 

 of the water-famine which threatens 

 in many quarters throughout the 

 country? 



