The Audubon Society 



173 



gentlemen's watch chains. Some surprise 

 was expressed by the company present at 

 this statement, particularly by the "Lady 

 Rathbone," as Audubon was want to 

 call her. No more was said then, but in 

 due time a tiny pen-and-ink sketch, per- 

 fect in every detail, with the motto, 

 "America my Country," was sent to 

 Mme. Rathbone, with Audubon's signa- 

 ture and compliments. Not long after, 

 Audubon received, to his amazement, a 

 beautiful fob seal, cut in topaz, which he 

 wore on his watch chain as long as he 

 lived. It is now a valued possession held 

 by his family. The accompanying cut is 

 made from a die of this seal, and exactly 

 reproduces it in size, etc. — D. T. A. Tyler. 



Report of the Audubon Society of the 

 District of Columbia 



For the District of Columbia the Secre- 

 tary has a most encouraging report. 



On Saturday, March 25, a very success- 

 ful exhibit of spring millinery was given 

 at the Hotel Corcoran, the ladies' parlors 

 being kindly loaned for the occasion. 

 About 300 women attended the exhibit 

 in spite of a pouring rain, lasting the 

 whole afternoon. Quite a number of 

 bonnets and hats were sold, and every 

 person attending left well supplied with 

 Audubon literature. 



In April, a free lecture by Mr. Henry 

 Olds, entitled "Some Familiar Birds," 

 was given at the First Baptist church, 

 which was also kindly loaned for this 

 most interesting talk. The lecture was 

 fully illustrated by colored lantern slides, 

 and was made doubly entertaining by 

 Mr. Olds' clever imitations of the notes 

 of the various birds explained. About 

 400 persons attended this lecture. 



The Rev. Mr. Leasitt explained the 

 aim and objects of the Audubon So- 

 ciety, Dr. C. Hart Merriam introducing 

 the lecturer in the unavoidable absence 

 of the President of the Society, Surgeon 

 General George M. Sternberg. Audubon 

 literature was again distributed, and some 

 copies of Mrs. L. W. Maynard's valuable 

 book ' Birds of Washington and Vicinity,' 

 were sold. 



The Audubon Society has started an 

 Audubon collection of books in the new 

 Free Library. This collection is designed 

 primarily to be books of reference, large 

 and expensive works, more especially for 

 the use of teachers. 



For the work in the public schools, Dr- 

 T. S. Palmer and Miss Elizabeth V. 

 Brown have been untiring and most suc- 

 cessful. In the spring of 1898, two 

 classes were arranged, one for teachers 

 in the Normal School, in charge of Dr. 

 Palmer, and one for teachers in the 

 Second and Fourth grades, in the hands 

 of Mr. H. C. Oberholser. The classes 

 were limited to 12 members each, and work 

 extended over ten weeks in 1898-g. Speci- 

 mens were kindly loaned by the Biological 

 Survey, and the classes were enabled to 

 handle, compare, and identify skins of 

 175 species of the 290 birds recorded for 

 the vicinity of Washington. These speci- 

 mens included nearly all the land birds 

 from this vicinity. Hints were given 

 concerning the classification of birds, the 

 characters of the principal groups, and 

 the use of keys. 



Short talks were also given on especially 

 interesting topics, such as the 'Relation of 

 Birds to other Vertebrates,' ' Feathers and 

 Feather Structure,' ' Flight,' ' Migration,' 

 'Food,' and 'Nesting Habits.' 



The Society this spring purchased 1,000 

 Audubon buttons from the Society of the 

 State of Wisconsin, Miss Elizabeth V. 

 Brown taking charge of their sale. A 

 large number were sold to children in 

 and outside the schools, and while not 

 strictly members of the Society, they 

 became more interested in the birds 

 through the wearing of this attractive 

 button. 



Miss Florence A. Merriam has given 

 several valuable talks this past spring, 

 notably one at the Washington Club, 

 before an audience of about 200 women, 

 which created great enthusiasm and 

 brought the Society an increase in mem- 

 bership. The Secretary has been untiringly 

 busy in trying to get societies organized 

 in the South and in some western states. 

 Jeanie Maury Patten, Sec'y. 



