Bird Notes and News 



113 



more had he remained in England. He has 

 vsince done yeoman service to the cause in 

 Canada. Dr. Hornaday, as the untiring 

 protagonist of wild-life protection in the 

 States, led the fight which resulted in the 

 prohibition of importation of plumage into 

 America ; and his name is familiar to all 

 workers in this country 



Birds at the Lighthouse. 



A letter was read from the President of 

 the Audubon Association of the Pacific, 

 stating that the Society's work in providing 

 bird-rests at the lighthouses had attracted 

 considerable attention among those interested 

 in birds as well as the Lighthouse service ; 

 and asking for advice and suggestions in the 

 work of providing similar rests in that 

 district, as it has been brought to the notice 

 of the Audubon Association and of the 

 Cooper Ornithological Club that quite a 

 number of birds were destroyed at certain 

 of the lighthouses. It was agreed that 

 every assistance be afforded in the matter. 



General Business. 



Letters from correspondents in several 

 British colonies were read, dealing with the 

 destruction of Herons for their plumage and 

 with the feather trade ; also a correspondence 

 between the Society and the Board of Trade 

 respecting the importation of " ospreys " 

 into England since the issue of the Order 

 of February last ; and papers with refer- 

 ence to the new regulations in Venezuela, 

 Other subjects discussed included the sugges- 

 tion to establish a Chair of Economic 

 Ornithology at one of the universities ; the 

 proposed collection of certain wild birds' 

 eggs for food next spring, and correspondence 



with the Scottish Office in regard thereto ; 

 Bird-Protection at Blakeney Point and 

 elsewhere ; and the reported shooting of 

 Spoonbills in Dorset. It was agreed that 

 the Chairman's signature be appended to a 

 letter to the Right Hon. H. A. L. Fisher, 

 Minister of Education, urging that in any 

 new Education BiU a definite place be given 

 to humane teaching in all schools under the 

 Department 



OBITUARY. 



Mr. Elliot Downs Till, of Eynsford, who 

 died on October 4th, at the age of 82, will 

 always be associated with one of the most 

 fruitful branches of the work of the Royal 

 Society for the Protection of Birds— that 

 of nature-teaching in the schools through the 

 institution of " Eird-and-Tree " Competitions 

 and Festivals. Mr. Till was the founder of 

 " Arbor Day " in England (to give the name 

 adopted in the United States and in our own 

 colonies), introducing it as a yearly festival 

 at E\msford in 18S7 ; and in 1902 he won the 

 R.S.P.B. award for the essay on the best 

 means of establishing " Bird and Arbor 

 Day " ia England. The most zealous of 

 fighters and most genial of enthusiasts for 

 everj'thing tending to promote the amenities 

 of country life — whether the erection of 

 picturesque cottages or the levelling of un- 

 sightly hoardings — his interest in the Society's 

 work was always keen ; and his last act wa-s 

 to give a special donation to the Leaflet 

 Fund on condition of twenty other donors 

 giving a like amount. He did not live to 

 know of the success of the appeal. A 

 resolution expressing the Council's sense 

 of the loss it has sustained through his 

 death was placed on the minutes at the 

 meeting of the Council on October 19th. 



