35S Notes and News. [j^. 



and Stream' for a period of more than thirty years. His writings covered 

 a wide range of subject .... Personally Mr. Thompson was a man of gigantic 

 frame and force, but of a nature so kindly and benevolent as to endear him 

 to all with whom he was brought in contact." 



It is a pleasure to learn that in the recent disaster to San Francisco and 

 vicinity from earthquake and fire most of the large private collections of 

 birds escaped practically unharmed, and that the natural history collections 

 of Stanford University and the University of California suffered very little 

 loss. The building of the California Academy of Sciences, however, was. 

 destroyed, with practically all its contents, except the types in the her- 

 barium and a few others, saved through the thought fulness and courage of 

 Miss Alice Eastwood, who entered the wrecked building and secured their 

 removal before the fire reached it. The total destruction of this building 

 with its rich contents is a great loss to science in general, and especially to 

 Pacific Coast ornithology. "This collection," says 'The Condor' (May- 

 June, 1906, p. 78), numbering in the neighborhood of 25,000 specimens, 

 was unique in its extensive series of superbly prepared skins of sea-birds. 

 The accumulation and study of these had long been the devoted aim of the 

 Director of the Academy, Leverett M. Loomis. Another most deplorable 

 feature of the disaster was the destruction of the valuable library, the 

 ornithological portion of which contained many rare and expensive sets, 

 such as complete files of ' The Ibis ' and ' Journal fiir Ornithologie .... There 

 is now practically no library on the Pacific Coast suitable for extended 

 research reference in ornithology. However, the Academy's endowment 

 remains, together with the insurance on the burned buildings, so that we 

 may gradually look for the institution to gradually regain its scientific 

 importance." Later information states that the rehabilitation of the 

 Academy has already been entered upon with the promptness and energy 

 that has characterized the people of the stricken city along every line of 

 enterprise. 



We learn from 'The Emu' (V, April, 1906, pp. 201, 202) that the 'cat 

 question ' is already a serious problem with bird protectionists in Australia. 

 Mr. A. G. Campbell, one of the Hon. Editors of 'The Emu,' in writing of 

 "the wild-cat pest — i. e., the domestic cat gone wild," thus refers to the 

 subject: "These injurious animals are now practically all over Australia. 

 You find them on the shores prowling about sea-bird rookeries, and in the 

 far interior thriving in rabbit-burrows. They are even to be found numer- 

 ous upon the islands off the coast. After several generations in the bush- 

 wilds these animals attain an immense size, and become so fierce that they 

 have been known to attack human beings. Now, such great beasts need 

 a quantity of food, and of what does that food chiefly consist? Why, of 

 course, native birds and animals. 



"How are we to combat this evil? 'It is a fine day; let us go out and 

 kill something.' That is a Frenchman's view of the chief characteristic 



