56 JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL .SOCIETY. 



more difficult prol)leni. Edward Howe Forbush, the state ornithol- 

 ogist of Massachusetts, prepared for the fifty-second annual report 

 of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture a "Special Report 

 on the Decrease of Certain Birds and its Causes, with Suggestions 

 for Bird Protection." This has now been printed as a separate pam- 

 phlet. Mr. Forbush olitained replies from over two hundred cor- 

 respondents in different parts of the state, representing all sections. 

 Ninety-four reported birds as decreasing ; sixty-two reported them 

 as holding their own or increasing ; twenty reported that game 

 birds are decreasing and song birds increasing or holding their own. 

 Mr. Forbush concludes that with the smaller species the natural 

 balance of bird life is now fairly constant in Massachusetts and 

 the neighboring states, and that the decrease will be found mainly 

 among those species which are hunted. 



We herewith present the Septeml)er number of the Maine Jour- 

 nal, and once more call attention to the need for more members and 

 subscribers. These can be obtained only by the personal efforts 

 of our present members, each one of whom ought to be interested 

 enough in the work to . secure at least one new name during the 

 coming month. It is desired to print a larger Journal, and to 

 have it contain more matter that is of interest to the state at large. 

 In order to do this it is necessary for most of our working members 

 to furnish at least one article, or, at all events, a note once a year. 

 This ought not to be a great tax on the time of even a busy man or 

 woman. And this brings to mind the fact that our female members 

 are not doing their share to make the Journal interesting. There 

 are some very able-working ornithologists in Maine, whose observa- 

 tions would be of great interest, and not a few of these are women. 

 By all means, then, let us hear from the ladies within the next six 

 weeks. 



Mr. Ora W. Knight promised us an article on the Myrtle War- 

 bler for this issue, but on account of the pressure of his other duties 

 he has been unable to prepare it. Mr. J. Merton Swain then under- 

 took to supply the need, but he, too, has been prevented from fur- 



