DOMESTICATED NATURE. 



259 



MISS CHENEY FEEDING THE FLICKERS ON 

 THE FENCE. . 



He had some two hundred or three 

 hundred specimens picked up at bird 

 stores or trapped or reared from the 

 egg. Many of these were foreign. The 

 plant is now devoted mostly to native 

 birds. In July, 1905, Mr. Miller came 

 from Clark University to assist Mr. 

 Scott who left in September, 1906, leav- 

 ing the entire management with Mr. 

 Miller. The collection now consists of 

 about one thousand birds comprising 

 one hundred varieties. 



The purpose of the Worthington 

 Society may be brieflv given as three- 

 fold : 



First — The scientific study of birds 

 and bird life, embracing biological, 

 psychological, and economic problems 

 connected with birds. 



Second — The acquisition and mainte- 

 nance of as complete a collection of live 

 native birds as is practicable to keep in 

 captivity, thereby affording the student 

 of ornithology an opportunity to pursue 

 his observations and research with the 



aid of live birds instead of with the 

 dead specimens usually provided by 

 museums for this purpose. 



Third — The stimulation ot a more 

 thoughtful interest on the part of the 

 public regarding birds and their charm 

 and usefulness to mankind. 



It is generally conceded that bird life 

 presents a vast amount of material for 

 investigation both from a scientific and 

 economic point of view. The intimate 

 bearing of bird life upon agricultural 

 interests is now well understood and in 

 itself affords an infinite field for the 

 observation and research of the nature 

 student. Bird life with its variety of 

 forms and colors, habits and habitats, 

 has so much to do with the welfare of 

 man that no scientist need be at loss for 

 problems to solve, relations to adjust, 

 or deductions to make, with the quan- 

 tity of material that this large family 

 offers. 



• Important work to be carried on by 

 this Society is along the line of experi- 

 ments in evolution. One of the chief 

 difficulties hitherto met with in this 



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A FLICKER GETS INTO THE DISH. 



