198 



Bird -Lore 



"Nature itself seems to have provided 

 that birds and fish each work to help the 

 other, and my plea against the extermina- 

 tion of the bird seems to have fallen on 

 very fertile soil, because, without a single 

 exception, every fisherman present cor- 

 roborated the statements made, and the 

 importance of the conservation of bird- 

 life, due, first, to their enormous destruc- 

 tion of insects of every character, and, 



second, to the fact which I emphasize, that 

 they are of very great assistance to the fish 

 in driving their food where it can be readily 

 caught. 



"I hope this brief information will be of 

 some value to you, and would appreciate 

 corroboration of my views from your 

 records." 



fSigned) John M. Parker, 



New Orleans, La. 



EGRET PROTECTION THREATENED 



Every year the Association collects, 

 from its members and friends, contribu- 

 tions to be used for the specific purpose of 

 extending protection to the white Egrets 

 that are killed to get the 'aigrette' for the 

 millinery trade. This support in the past 

 has been sufficiently generous to enable the 

 Association to accomplish a number of 

 notable results. For example, the passage 

 of the law in New York state which pro- 

 hibits the sale of these feathers, as well as 

 the feathers of other native protected 

 birds within the borders of the Common- 

 wealth. 



Also, the Association was able to wage 

 a campaign in Pennsylvania for the pas- 

 sage of a law which made it illegal to sell 

 these trophies in that state. Similar 

 campaigns have been conducted else- 

 where, and now the laws of fourteen states 

 prohibit merchants from dealing in these 

 feathers. We have been able to cooperate 

 with the State Game Protective officials 

 in New York and elsewhere in bringing 

 numbers of law-breakers to justice, who 

 were forced to pay large fines for illegally 

 selling aigrettes. 



Every spring, men are employed to 

 guard the few remaining breeding colonies 

 of these birds, in so far as it has been 

 possible to locate them in the southern 

 states. This exceedingly dangerous warden 

 work is carried on by guards hired during 

 the spring months for the purpose. There 

 is not the slightest doubt but what the 

 Egrets in the South Atlantic States would 

 today be on the very verge of absolute 

 extinction but for the efforts of the Asso- 

 ciation. 



Sometimes money is slow in coming in, 

 and the birds not infrequently have suffered 



as a result. The Association cannot hire a 

 man and send him into the swamps to 

 guard a colony of birds unless it has money 

 to pay for this service, and there have been 

 a number of instances in recent years 

 when, through lack of funds to employ 

 wardens, colonies of Egrets have been 

 shot for their feathers, and the unattended 

 young left to perish in the nests. 



It now appears that a number of colonies 

 will have to be left unguarded the pres- 

 ent spring because of lack of funds. In 

 several instances $100 is enough to save 

 a colony through the breeding-season; in 

 other cases $50 is a sufficient amount. If 

 the bird-lovers of the country want this 

 interesting bird spared and brought back 

 in numbers, the Association has the 

 machinery and experience with which to 

 do it. 



We hope that these remarks will be 

 read by some members who may at once 

 feel disposed to contribute something to 

 this work. 



The following record shows a list of the 

 contributions, for Egret protection efforts, 

 which were received between October .20, 

 1917, and March i, igi8. 



Contributors to the Egret Fund 



Balance unexpended from 1Q17, 



as per Annual Report .... $870 15 



Adams, William C i 00 



Allen, Miss Gertrude 15 00 



.\llen, Mary P 15 00 



.\mes, Mrs. J. B 5 00 



Ayres, Miss Mary A 5 00 



Barclay, Miss Emily 5 00 



Beall, Mrs. LA 5 00 



Bignell, Mrs. Effie i 00 



Blackwelder, Eliot i 00 



Bond, Miss Mary Louise .... i 00 



Bonham, Miss Elizabeth S. . . . 5 00 



