172 



Bird- Lore 



present abhorrent conditions. It will 

 not be sufficient for us to merely argue the 

 question of whether birds are noxious or 

 beneficial; we all know that certain of the 

 valuable and interesting birds of the world 

 are being rapidly exterminated, and it is 

 our duty to take steps to stop this ex- 

 termination. If this matter is referred to 

 a Committee, it must be to one that will 

 not sleep, and only awaken five years from 

 now, when another Congress is held. 

 By that time it may, and probably will 

 be, too late to save several species of 

 birds that soon must be classed among 

 extinct forms, the list of which is already 

 too large. 



Members of the Congress, I leave you 

 these thoughts for j^our earnest considera- 

 tion. 



The Mary Dutcher Memorial Fund 



The absence of Mr. Dutcher, while 

 attending the International Ornithologi- 

 cal Congress, was considered by a number 

 of his friends to be an admirable oppor- 

 tunity to give tangible expression to the 

 esteem in which he and his work are held 

 by every one in this country interested 

 in the protection of birds. Under the 

 leadership of Mr. W. W. Grant, a com- 

 mittee was therefore formed and contri- 

 butions soHcited to a fund which, in 

 commemoration of the sympathy and 

 support Mr. Butcher's daughter, during 

 her all too brief Hfe, had always given 

 her father in his ceaseless labors, was 

 named the Mary Dutcher Memorial Fund. 



Both the number and the character of 

 the responses which were received to the 

 committee's circular letter, showed that 

 the plan it proposed met with the most 

 widespread and hearty approval. Although 

 only a short time was available, and this 

 at an unfavorable season, the fund 

 amounted to nearly $7,000 before July i, 

 and additions to it are still being made 

 daily. 



This substantial testimonial was pre- 

 sented to Mr. Dutcher, as President of the 

 National Association of Audubon So- 

 cieties, at a luncheon given to him on 

 July 14, shortly after his return from 



Europe, and if each contributor to the 

 fund could have seen the profound sense 

 of appreciation with which it was ac- 

 cepted, his pleasure in taking part in 

 this well-deserved tribute would have 

 been more than doubled. 



It is proposed that the interest on the 

 Mary Dutcher Fund be used in such a 

 manner that a report on the results 

 attending its expenditure be rendered 

 yearly.— F. M. C. 



Bird Legislation in England 



There is now before the British Parlia- 

 ment a "Bill to Prohibit the Sale or Ex- 

 change of the Plumage and Skins of 

 Certain Wild Birds." Section one reads 

 as follows: 



"i. (i) Any person who, after the 

 commencement of this Act, shall have in 

 his possession for the purpose of sale or 

 exchange the plumage or skin, or any 

 part of the plumage or skin, of any dead 

 wild bird imported or brought into the 

 United Kingdom on or after the first day 

 of January, one thousand nine hundred and 

 eleven, which is included in the schedule 

 to this Act, or not exempted from the 

 operation of this Act, shall be guilty 

 of an offence, and shall on summary 

 conviction be liable for the first offence to 

 a penalty of not exceeding five pounds, 

 and for every subsequent offence, to a 

 penalty of not exceeding twenty-five 

 pounds, and in every case the court shall 

 order the forfeiture and destruction of 

 the articles in respect of which the of- 

 fence has been committed." 



There are six sections in the bill; all 

 except the first one relate to enforcement 

 and exceptions. The schedule is compre- 

 hensive, and when the bill becomes a law 

 it will do much toward stamping out the 

 use of the plumage of wild birds for 

 millinery ornaments; further, it very 

 closely follows the recommendations of 

 the International Committee in regard 

 to non-importation. 



Schedule 

 The Birds of Paradise. Family Paradi- 



scidce. 



