State Audubon Reports 307 



that must have been feh 1)\- the people whose sweetest song-bird is the Robin 

 would be much akin to that which we would experience if our Mockingbirds, 

 the Southland's sacred songster, should migrate to Cuba and be butc-hered, as 

 Robins i'ormerly were in Alabama. 



Under the hunters' license system, more than hfteen thousand dollars annually 

 is paid into the game and fish ])rc)tection fund, which is largely in excess of 

 the expense of the Department of Game and Fish. Although game wardens 

 are at all times on the lookout for violators of the law, yet, when infractions are 

 re|)orted to the Department of (iame and Fish, the Commissioner at once orders 

 game wardens to the scene of infractions, and every effort is made to apprehend 

 and to convict breakers of the game law. 



Public sentiment demands the conviction of those w^ho transgress the bird 

 and game laws, hence hundreds of convictions are had each year in Alabama. 

 Every activity is demonstrated by the Department of Game and Fish, in keeping 

 constantly before the people the pro\'isions and the benefits of the law relative 

 to game and bird preservation, for only by these means can the sympathy of our 

 citizens be enlisted, and their ccoperation had, in the matter of protecting the 

 wild life of the state. — John H. Wallace, Jr., State Game and Fish Commis- 

 sioner. 



Arizona. — The Arizona Audubon Society was organized April, 1908, with 

 a small but active membership. After making a program for the following year's 

 work, the Societ\' adjourned for the summer, to begin the following October. 

 \Miile the apparent result of the first year's work to a non-interested party has 

 not been so great, yet the enthusiasm of the members and good words spoken 

 for the Society by outsiders are very encouraging. Several meetings were held 

 during the year, when Educational Leaflets were distributed; also bird life 

 about Tucson was studied. Hundreds of Tucson school children were told of their 

 feathered friends. It is hoped that the organization of a Junior Society will be 

 part of the coming year's labor. — Mrs. Harriett B. Thorxber, Secretary. 



California. — Though a number of distressing cases of bird destruction have 

 been reported during the year, on the whole, it would seem that the bird-lovers 

 have no reason to be disheartened. Public sentiment is on the increase in favor 

 of bird protection. 



At the recent legislative session, our Society made a vigorous and successful 

 fight against the passage of two especially undesirable bills; one intended to re- 

 move protection from the Meadowlark, and the other to permit children under 

 fourteen years of age to hunt without a license. One of the interesting incidents 

 connected with the defeat of the Meadowlark Bill was the statement of Senator 

 Curtin that his young son, aged only nine years, had written him that he did 

 not want his father to come home unless he could say that he had voted to save 

 the Meadowlark. This bov had collected and forwarded to his father reliable 



