VoI 'i?i8 XV ] Notes and News. 107 



Dr. Henry McHatton, of Macon, Ga., an Associate of the American 

 Ornithologists' Union since 1898, died of pneumonia on April 22, 1917, 

 shortly after returning from Florida where he had spent the winter. Dr. 

 McHatton was born at Baton Rouge, La., on the 29th of February, 1856. 

 His parental home was a large sugar plantation on the Mississippi River 

 just south of Baton Rouge, but on account of conditions brought about 

 by the Civil War the family was forced to leave this home when he was 

 seven years old. From Louisiana they traveled by wagon through Texas 

 to the Mexican border, several months being occupied in making the trip. 

 From northern Mexico Dr. McHatton 's father went to Cuba, where he 

 again took up his business of sugar growing. After the ten years' war in 

 Cuba and the death of his father, Dr. McHatton returned to the United 

 States, going to New York City, where he studied medicine and graduated 

 from the old Bellevue College of Medicine in 1881. On account of his 

 health he moved in 1883 to Macon, Ga., where he took up the practice of 

 his profession. 



Through the varied experiences of his youth the love of out doors was 

 intensified as years went by. He was always interested in anything 

 pertaining to ornithology and a personal knowledge of the habits of birds, 

 animals and fish was a source of constant pleasure to him. He was an 

 officer of the original Audubon Society of Georgia which was reorganized 

 a few years ago. In his death the game and fish of Georgia lost a great 

 friend.— T. H. McHatton. 



Ornithological Work in 1917. * — At the recent meeting of the Union 

 an hour was devoted to a consideration of 'Ornithological Work in 1917' 

 for the purpose of reviewing briefly the activities of the year. While war 

 conditions have necessarily curtailed activity in various directions and 

 especially in field work, the review showed that much had been accomplished 

 although most of the published work was necessarily based on investiga- 

 tions made in previous years. 



Field Work. Of chief interest is the work accomplished by several 

 of the museums through expeditions and special collectors. 



The Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of Berkeley, Calif ., devoted its atten- 

 tion chiefly to the southwest. H. S. Swarth visited southern Arizona and 

 obtained material for a report on the birds found on the Apache Trail, while 

 Grinnell and Dixon spent some time in the Death Valley region in California. 

 In the north W. E. C. Todd was in the field five months in charge of the 

 Carnegie Museum Expedition to northern Quebec. In tropical America 

 the activity of previous years has decreased with the return of the American 

 Museum Expeditions from South America but one party, comprising 

 Messrs. Miller, Griscom and Richardson, spent four months collecting 



1 The following summary is based on a discussion of the subject in which A. A. Allen, 

 Frank M. Chapman, H. K. Job, H. C. Oberholser, T. Gilbert Pearson and the Secretary 

 took part. Extended titles and references to papers are omitted as most of the publica- 

 tions here mentioned are reviewed in the volumes of 'The Auk' for 1917 or 1918. 



