58 



Bird - Lore 



pecker and Owl cavities, whicli could not 

 be filled without importing them from 

 Germany. 



The Executive Ofl5cers of the Associa- 

 tion will be very glad to receive data 

 giving the results of experiments with 

 nesting-boxes, similar to the enclosed 

 report just received from Massachu- 

 setts. 



"I have a small place of about eighty- 

 five acres in Massachusetts, and, after 

 reading your book, I went to work to see 

 what I could do myself. I made a large 

 number of boxes for the birds, and was 

 rewarded from the first day I put them up 

 by seeing a pair of Bluebirds take posses- 

 sion of one, and nearly all the boxes were 

 occupied this summer. I got into a row 

 over it because I killed my neighbor's cat, 

 and nothing I could say or do about the 

 birds would ever recompense her for that. 

 She has another kitten about now, but I 

 shall dispose of it very carefully if it makes 

 any trouble for the birds. I am going to 

 experiment further this coming spring, and 

 I hope to be quite successful." 



Cats 



The Association is very anxious to 

 secure all the reliable data it can regard- 

 ing damage done to birds by the house cat. 

 The following is a good example of the 

 details desired: 



"My neighbor's cats this past summer 

 (1908) killed all of my lovely Warblers but 

 one, eighteen in all, and two Wrens I know 

 of, two Red-headed Woodpeckers, several 

 other birds whose names I do not know; 

 you will understand my feeling of anti- 

 pathy for cats. Our Society will not be 

 doing its full duty toward the defense- 

 less birds until it in some manner cur- 

 tails the liberty of those blood-thirsty 

 creatures. " 



A Valuable Experiment 



Mr. Bccbe, curator of birds ;il tlic New 

 York Zofiiogical Park, is conducting some 

 valuable experiments with Mockingbirds 

 with a \ii'w of establishing this beautiful 



singer in this vicinity. Mockingbirds are 

 raised in captivity at the Zoological Park, 

 and are liberated, hoping that they may 

 become established. 



That there may be no check on the 

 experiment by collectors, it is urged that 

 persons who hold permits for scientific 

 collecting will not kill any Mockingbirds, 

 certainly within a fifty-mile radius of the 

 city of New York. — WiLLi.XM Dutcher. 



Willow Island Fund 



.\s noted in Bird-Lore, this Associa- 

 tion has taken a five years' lease of Willow 

 Island, in the Connecticut River, with the 

 privilege of purchasing the same and 

 making it a perpetual bird refuge. It is 

 hoped that the citizens of Connecticut will 

 start a popular subscription for the pur- 

 pose. 



One bright school girl in Stamford, 

 Connecticut, on reading the note in Bird- 

 Lore, sent to the Association fifty cents 

 with the following letter: 



"I have seen in Bird-Lore the notice of 

 your desire to purchase Willow Island 

 in bird interests. I want to contribute fifty 

 cents to the fund and enclose herewith 

 that amount. — Pe.vrl Agnes Bigelow." 



It is hoped that hundreds of Connecticut 

 school children, as well at their parents, 

 will follow the example of this ardent 

 young bird protector. 



All contributions to the Willow Island 

 fund will be acknowledged in Bird- 

 Lore. 



Mrs. Phillips, through Pearl .\gnes 

 Bigelow, $0.50. 



The Agassiz Association 



Our advertising pages call attention to 

 the good fortune which has befallen Mr. 

 E. F. Bigelow, whose advancement of 

 nature work, both through the pages of St. 

 Nicholas and as President of the Agassiz 

 Association, is an assurance that the in- 

 creased opportunities for study and exper- 

 iment afforded by his new plant will be 

 utilized for the benefit of all concerned. 



