2'IA. Corresponffeuce. LApr. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



Some Suggestions. 



Editors of ' The Auk ' : — 



Dear Sirs: — I take this occasion to voice the feelings of many 

 amateur ornithologists who are members of the A. O. U. We all have the 

 keenest sympathy for the success of the cause for which 'The Auk' 

 stands as the organ of the A. O. U., and we fully realize that the highest 

 advancement of American ornithology can be accomplished only through 

 and by professional men, and that 'The Auk' must and should be their 

 favored organ. 



But we further believe that the continued success of 'The Auk' and 

 Union depends upon the moral and financial support which they receive 

 from the amateur members of the A. O. U. In many, maybe in most 

 instances, this support must be dependent upon the contents of ' Tlie 

 Auk.' Many of the readers of ' The Auk ' — and I am one of them — are 

 only secondarily interested in technical and local faunal articles. Their 

 leisure opportunities, and perhaps their inclinations, are sufficient to grasp 

 on!)' the general features of systematic and faunal ornithology. On the 

 other hand they are intensely interested in general and field ornithology, 

 and peruse and study those matters which relate to the habits and life 

 histories of the feathered kind with the keenest enjoyment. Such reading 

 appeals to their sympathy and feelings, enlivens and deepens their 

 interest, and may lead them on to the study of scientific ornithology, 

 which is in most instances regarded at first as dry and uninteresting. 



I feel assured that if ' The Auk ' contained more articles of the nature 

 of Bent's late article on North Dakota Anatidse, or Peabody's on Le 

 Conte's Sparrow — articles interesting to the student as well as to the 

 professional — the membership of the A. O. U. would be measurably 

 increased, the fimds available for publishing ' The Auk ' Avould be 

 greater, and its value both to the scientist and to the amateur would be 

 enhanced. 



Very truly yours, 



J. C. Knox, 



Jan. 17, 1903. Jackson, Mitin. 



[The above letter is in line with others received from time to time b}' 

 the Editors of ' The Auk,' offering suggestions for its improvement from 

 the standpoint of the lay reader. But Mr. Knox's letter is exceptional in 

 its courteous tone, and in the reasonablesness of its suggestions. That 

 the matter may be better understood, it seems well to present in this con- 

 nection a few words of editorial comment. 



'The Auk' is, first of all, the organ of the American Ornithologist's 

 Union, which is primarily an association of professional ornithologists, or 



