202 



Bird- Lore 



ences and receive in return the results of 

 that committee's practical work in up- 

 holding the law, and suggestions for their 

 own work for the coming year. Such a 

 fusion would strengthen and unify the 

 ■work of both bodies without hurting the 

 individuality of either and be thoroughly 

 in line with the twentieth century spirit 

 of all great reforms — cooperation. 



M. O. W. 



The Audubon Conference. 



The first conference of State Audu- 

 bon Societies was held on the afternoon 

 of November 15, in the Geological Lec- 

 ture Room of the Museum of Compara- 

 tive Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., delegates 

 being present from the New Hampshire, 

 Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecti- 

 cut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 

 District of Columbia and Illinois Societies. 



During the week the daily sessions of 

 the American Ornithologists' Union had 

 drawn together a notable company, both 

 of scientists and bird students of the nov- 

 ice class, the final session of the Ameri- 

 can Ornithologists' Union in the morning 

 having been devoted to reports from the 

 committee on bird protection and accounts 

 of the application of the law under the 

 Lacey bill through the splendid work of 

 T. S. Palmer, Assistant Chief of the Bio- 

 logical Survey, so that the time seemed 

 most pertinent for a meeting of the Audu- 

 bon Societies. 



The meeting was opened by Dr C. S. 

 Minot, who made a brief introductory ad- 

 dress outlining the establishment of the 

 various state societies in general and of 

 the Massachusetts Society in particular. 

 Dr Minot having been then made chair- 

 man and Mrs. H. T. Grant, Jr., secretary, 

 the meeting was called to order. 



Mr. Ralph Hoffmann spoke of the ob- 

 jects of the conference, of the desirability 

 of federation, of the need for cooperative 

 printing and of the stimulus derived from 

 ■contact with other workers. 



He read a letter from Mrs. Peckham, of 

 the Wisconsin Society, telling of her work 

 in the schools and urging the Societies to 

 use a little publication called By the Way- 



side as a means of encouraging nature 

 study among the younger members. 



Mrs. Wright, of the Connecticut Society, 

 spoke of the necessity of furnishing local 

 secretaries with material to instruct and 

 interest those of whom they sought to 

 make members, saying that leaflets were 

 good as far as they went, but the reading 

 of a leaflet implied interest and that some- 

 thing else was often first necessary to 

 awaken that interest. As a practical illus- 

 tration of the educational methods prac- 

 ticed by the Connecticut Society, Mrs. 

 Wright explained their free traveling lec- 

 tures, reading the most general, ' The Birds 

 About Home, ' and showing the seventy 

 finely colored slides that accompany it. 



Mr. Frank M. Chapman spoke on 'What 

 Can we Do for Our Members,' and citing 

 in illustration the remarkable success 

 which had attended the introduction of 

 bird-study into the Chautauqua course 

 under the supervision of Mrs. Florence 

 Merriam Bailey, he urged that the Audu- 

 bon Societies use their organization to 

 form classes for the study of birds. 



Miss Justus, of the Pennsylvania Society, 

 told how this method had been tried in her 

 state by the formation of six successful 

 bird classes during the past season. 



Dr. T. S. Palmer, of the District of Co- 

 lumbia Society, described the methods of 

 that society in fitting nature-study teach- 

 ers for their work, and made a stirring 

 address to the Audubon Societies to work 

 together to better the laws as well as to 

 see that they were enforced, and to incul- 

 cate the feeling that the bird belongs not 

 to the individual but to the state. 



The lateness of the hour prevented 

 further discussion or consideration of the 

 subjects of Federation and Cooperation, 

 and upon motion of Mr. Chapman, who 

 on behalf of the New York Society and 

 American Museum of Natural History, 

 invited the societies to meet in New York 

 during the American Ornithologists' Con- 

 gress in November, 1901, it was decided 

 to appoint a committee whose duty it 

 should be to formulate plans for the fed- 

 eration of the societies and to report at 

 the Audubon Congress of 1901. 



