tions. Three States, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Vermont, withdrew 

 protection from the European Starling and authorized destruction of the 

 bird under certain conditions. In California several important changes 

 were made, such as strengthening the plumage law, and protecting the 

 Band-tailed Pigeons, rails, and smaller shorebirds but some of the bills 

 failed to receive the approval of the Governor or were subject to referendum. 

 In Vermont the restriction on the number of permits to collect birds for 

 scientific purposes in force at any one time was removed. The interest 

 in bird reserves was well illustrated in Wisconsin whose legislature memor- 

 ialized Congress to set aside certain islands in the Great Lakes for the pur- 

 pose of establishing bird reservations to be ultimately placed in charge of 

 the States when they were ready to assume the expenses of maintenance. 

 On the whole, the legislative record is highly satisfactory and shows sub- 

 stantial progress. 



In view of the splendid results attained during the past year in the 

 campaign against the feather-trade, it seems high time that bird protection- 

 ists take up another phase of the subject that comes much nearer home 

 to every household in this country than does the killing of plume birds. 

 This is the cat question. There is I think no doubt that for years past the 

 greatest destructive agency to our smaller song and insectivorous birds 

 has been cats. 



In an editorial in ' Forest and Stream ' for November 15, 1913, that is well 

 worth reading, the subject is taken up from the standpoint of the sportsman 

 and the destruction of young and adult quail effected by cats is rated as- 

 great as that from any other agency. "The English Keeper," the writer 

 says, "well understands the injury done in the preserves by the domestic 

 cat and wages against it a war as bitter, and as uncompromising, as that 

 which he carries on against the stoat or any of the hawks." 



The number of stray cats at large in the United States is enormous. 

 It is stated in ' Bird Lore ' that the number put out of existence in New York. 

 City by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals during the first 

 nine months of 1905 totaled, 53,938! The stray cats are usually the' 

 worst offenders and if means could be adopted to effect their slaughter and 

 to instruct people in the danger that they inflict upon bird life by allowing; 

 cats to run wild and leaving them behind when they move away, some- 

 good would be accomplished. The whole question of the economic value- 

 of the cat it seems to us would be a valuable line of investigation. If the 

 destruction of mice offsets the destruction of game and insectivorous birds 

 then the cat deserves consideration but if the keeping of cats is to be re- 

 garded as merely a 'luxury' or if they are proven to be more noxious than 

 beneficial to wild-life then their possession should be guarded with stringent 

 restrictions, embodying registration or taxation. 



In 'The Warbler' (Vol. VII, 1913) Mr. G. K. Noble states that stray 

 cats originally brought out to Muskeget Island to keep the rats out of 

 hunters' shacks are playing havoc with the yoimg terns in the protected 

 colony although the warden is using every effort to exterminate them. 



