82 



Bird -Lore 



Hart, well kiiDwn in business circles in 

 that city, was elected President to suc- 

 ceed Mrs. W. K. Harris. Mr. Hart has 

 begun a most active campaign of publicity 

 in the interests of a bill which the Society 

 will put before the Virginia Legislature 

 this year for the purpose of establishing a 

 state game commission to be supported by 

 a resident hunters' license tax. In this 

 work he not only has the cooperation of the 

 Virginia (iame and Game Fish Protective 

 Association, but is being greatly assisted 

 by the Field Agent of the Association, Miss 

 Katharine H. Stuart. There is probably 

 no woman so well known in Virginia today 

 as Miss Stuart, her field-work and lec- 

 tures during the past four years having 

 taken her into every nook and corner of 

 the Old Dominion State. 



Dr. Eugene Swope, Ohio Field Agent 

 for the Association, is working in Florida 

 this winter. The Florida State Audubon 

 Society has combined with the National 

 Association in financing an extensive 

 lecture tour for Dr. Swope. He is visit- 

 ing practically all the cities and towns of 

 importance in the state. In his addresses 

 and newspaper work he is laying special 

 stress on the importance of teaching the 

 children the value of bird-study by means 

 of Junior Audubon classes. He is also 

 doing much to cultivate a sentiment to 

 support the new game commission, which, 

 largely by the efforts of the Audubon 

 workers, was established at the session 

 of the Florida Legislature last spring. 



Mr. Henry Oldys, Washington City's 

 well-known bird-lecturer, has recently 

 finished a course of lectures throughout 

 the state of Illinois, the expense having been 

 borne jointly by the state Society and the 

 National Association. So well was Mr. 

 Oldys received, and so much good resulted 

 through his efforts, that upon the conclu- 

 sion of his engagement, arrangements 

 were immediately made by Mr. Ruthven 

 Deane, President of the Illinois Audubon 

 Society, to have him return shortly and 

 continue the good work so auspiciously 

 begun. 



There is undoubtedly a growing ten- 

 dency on the i)art of magistrates and 

 judges to impose heavier penalties on 

 l)co])le who wilfully \iolate tlic bird- 

 protection laws. This is but another 

 evidence of the tremendous force of public 

 sentiment once it is aroused in the inter- 

 est of any good cause. Justice James 

 Bratt, of Bergen County, New Jersey, 

 is one of those who belie\'e in imposing 

 fines of sufficient size to cause the illegal 

 bird-killer to realize that it is no small 

 matter to shoot birds wantonly. Recently 

 two men were brought before him charged 

 with shooting one Snowbird each and for 

 hunting without a license as required by 

 the state. For the first offense they were 

 fined $ioo each, and for the latter $20 each. 

 Having to pay out $240 for one afternoon's 

 hunt will certainly have the effect of caus- 

 ing these two men and all their friends to 

 be careful how they break the bird-laws. 



On December 9 there was reported to 

 the New Jersey Audubon Society the 

 killing of a "Golden" Eagle by a man 

 near Daretown. Another man was said 

 to have had the bird mounted and taken 

 home. The matter was promptly reported 

 to the Fish and Game Warden for Salem 

 County, and on December 24, the war- 

 den reported that he had prosecuted both 

 parties and that fines of twenty dollars 

 and costs had been assessed and collected 

 in each case. The practice still obtains 

 in far too many cases of killing on sight 

 any large bird of unusual appearance. 

 Those who honestly desire to obtain 

 specimens for study may legally do so by 

 following the procedure for obtaining 

 permits provided for in the law. With the 

 spirit that would deplete the rare bird 

 fauna to "ornament" one's home there 

 can be no sympathy. 



It is much pleasure to record renewed 

 activity in regard to local Audubon work 

 on the part of two New England states 

 where but little interest has been shown 

 for the past year or two. Largely through 

 the efforts of Mr. E. H. Forbush, our 

 New lingland Agent, and seconded by 



