^i8^^1 Report of Coin mi/ fee on Bird Protection. Ill 



. "In the clays of the old original Audubon Society, I did cjuite 

 a little work up here [Lewis Co., N. Y.], and got two or three 

 local secretaries for the neighboring villages who secured goodly 

 membership lists. 



" With the revival of the work I have tried to bring the people 

 back into line, and in that attempt have had my eyes opened to 

 the value of local work such as we did in those days. In our 

 village nearly all the members have broken their pledges and are so 

 utterly indifferent to the matter that the former secretary thinks 

 she could not get them back on the membership list even if the fee 

 were only twenty-five cents. She says they were never very 

 much interested, and now care nothing about the subject. 



" Now we don't want to repeat this history, and as Chairman 

 of the Protection Committee I look to you to warn our workers 

 from the past and help them to work more wisely in this new 

 movement that promises to go from coast to coast. 



" We do not want it to be a passing enthusiasm, but a vital 

 growth. Bird protection must be the outgrowth of public intelli- 

 gence rather than sentiment ; this intelligence can be secured by 

 lectures and the wide distribution of eco7ioniic statistics such as 

 the New York Society is sending out, and such as every society 

 should disseminate ; and it can also be secured by teaching the 

 school children the interest and value of birds. Make the adults 

 intelligent ; interest the children in birds. Bird protection should 

 b,e like vaccination ; as soon as people understood the value of 

 that there was no further question. When, people are taught the 

 economic value of birds — ^ that bird destruction is a matter of 

 dollars and cents to them — bird protection will be assured; and 

 when children are interested in birds they will not want to shoot 

 them with sling shots. 



" Just here we have a mission, an opportunity which I hope 

 very earnestly you will point out to all the ne,wly formed a,nd^ 

 forming societies — an opportunity to make our movement Audu- 

 bon work in very fact as in name — to spread the true spirit of 

 Audubon, to implant the love of nature in our children's hearts. 

 Let our Audubon societies be not only for the Protection, but the 

 Study of Birds. Let us work to introduce bird study into the schools 

 along with botany. 



