State Reports 3S5 



wen- renovated, aiul two new ones added to tlie number, and all are continu- 

 ally moving from school to school. 



At our annual meeting in March, Prof. Herbert I',. Walter, of Brown Uni- 

 versity, delivered an interesting lecture upon the plumage of birds, illustrated 

 by the epidiascope. \iy this instrument most vi\id and beautiful effects arc 

 obtained. 



We have recently joined the Rhode Island League for rural progress and the 

 League of Improvement Societies, believing that these connections will increase 

 our usefulness. 



Yew newspapers in the country have taken so much interest in the subject 

 of bird protection as the 'Providence Journal'. During the past year it has 

 ])ublished a series of bird articles which have been valuable to students, and 

 very interesting to the general reader. Such a department has long been needed, 

 and all Rhode Island bird-lovers feel under obligations to the 'Journal' for 

 this educational work, as well as for frequent editorials u])on all matters relat- 

 ing to the Audubon Societies. — Mrs. Henry Tyler Grant, Secretary. 



South Carolina. — A short statement of the work of the South Carolina 

 Audubon Society will be of some interest at this time. To begin with, the laws 

 of this state on bird, game and fish protection have heretofore been drawn with- 

 out system or regard to uniformity. Most of the law's that are now on the books 

 cover specific counties as regards the birds, and the northern and western part 

 of the state has no law protecting fish. I see no hope of straightening the 

 matter except by having new uniform laws passed at the next session of the 

 legislature. 



The Society has had a man in the field as often as there was money in the 

 treasury to pay his expenses while soliciting memberships, but he has not met 

 with the success that we had hoped for, and the condition of the treasury at this 

 time does not warrant further expenditure. The president has advanced a con- 

 siderable sum of money which the Society has been unable so far to return, 

 but we hope that when the shooting season commences the licenses from 

 non-resident hunters will enable us to prosecute the work with some system 

 and energy. 



We have been unable, so far, to get out any printed matter of our own, but 

 have distributed pamphlets contributed by the National Association and the 

 Department of Agriculture. 



The newspapers of the state have given us material aid by notices of the 

 Society, and by publishing any articles sent in by us. Clippings covering this 

 matter have been sent from time to time to Mr. Pearson, secretary of the National 

 Association. Our secretary seems to be doing all that is possible under the cir- 

 cumstances, and has visited the different sections of the state at different times, 

 and has secured a few memberships at all points. By direction he made cases 

 against two parties for killing Great Blue Herons. In one case w-e secured a 



