March 3, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



233 



voluntarily already on a small scale. Sys- 

 tematic effort would doubtless increase their 

 number many fold. The old apothecary 

 weights might be completely abandoned if ef- 

 fort were expended in that direction. Finally, 

 legislation making the use of metric units obli- 

 gatory would come as a matter of course when 

 the public understood that prejudice and the 

 supposed interest of a few gage manufacturers 

 was keeping us from the only rational system 

 of weights and measures. 



Eugene C. Bingham 

 Chairman^ Metric Committee 

 Lafayette College 



THE BANDING OF BIRDS 



On the seventeenth of January, 1922, in 

 response to an invitation from Mr. L. B. 

 Fletcher and others interested in the banding 

 of birds, over a hundred ornithologists, 

 licensed bird-banders and candidates for 

 licenses, met at the Boston Society of Natural 

 History Building in Boston and organized a 

 new ornithological society to be known as the 

 New England Bii'd Banding Association. The 

 meeting was addressed by S. Prentiss Baldwin 

 of Cleveland, Ohio, who, during the last six 

 years, by introducing bird-trapping as a means 

 of banding birds, has done so much to show 

 the scientific possibilities of the work. The 

 Bureau of Biological Survey in Washington 

 was represented by Major E. A. Goldman, who 

 spoke of the bureau's plans in connection with 

 the movement, strongly endorsing the organ- 

 ization of the new association and recommend- 

 ing the formation of other organizations of the 

 same character at appropriate localities in the 

 United States and Canada. 



Members of Audubon societies and bird clubs 

 in several states, and of the Nuttall and Essex 

 County Ornithological clubs, and state ornith- 

 ologists were present at the meeting, as well aw 

 a representative of the Canadian game warden 

 service. 



At this writing, January 24, 1922, the asso- 

 ciation has an enrollment of about three hun- 

 dred members who are scattered over all parts 

 of the territory covered by the organization, 

 namely, New England, Quebec, and the mari- 

 time provinces. 



The following officers and councilors were 

 elected : 



President: Edward H. Forbush, Westboro, 

 Mass. 



First ■vice-president : Dr. Charles W. Townsend, 

 Boston, Mass. 



Second vice-president: James MacKaye, Cam- 

 bridge, Mass. 



Corresponding secretary and treasurer: Lau- 

 rence B. Fletcher, Brookline, Mass. 



Mecording secretary: Miss Alice B. Harring- 

 ton, Lincoln, Mass. 



Councilors : A. Cleveland Bent, Taunton, Mass. ; 

 Dr. John C. Phillips, Wenham, Mass.; John E. 

 Thayer, Lancaster, Mass. ; William P. Wharton, 

 G-roton, Mass. ; Aaron C. Bagg, Holyoke, Mass. ; 

 Charles L. Whittle, Cambridge, Mass. 



It may be of interest to ornithologists gen- 

 erally to read an outline of the purposes and 

 plans of the new association which has been 

 formed under the stimuli furnished by the 

 national movement, administered by the Bureau 

 of Biological Survey; by the more general ap- 

 preciation of the scientific aspects of bird 

 banding as shown, in particular, by Mr. Bald- 

 win's recent work; and by the interesting and 

 valuable data already oljtained by previous 

 bird-banding operations. 



In the beginning it was felt that the some- 

 what disappointing i-esults secured from bird 

 banding in the United States to date were due 

 to the workers being too scattered and unco- 

 ordinated; to a lack of national support of the 

 plan and the too general character of the 

 ornithological problems bird-banding opera- 

 tions were expected to solve. 



From a study of the situation we came to 

 believe that we could obtain the best results: 



1. B3' organizing a regional association of bird 

 banders, meaning by this, bringing together a 

 membership from an area possessing one or more 

 migration highways, along which trapping sta- 

 tions could be established to furnish, by intensive 

 attack, fairly speedy answers to certain specific 

 migration problems, thus early demonstrating to 

 members the scientiiic value of bird banding 

 with the consequent stimulus to continue the work 

 which it is expected will ultimately solve more 

 ornithological riddles, aid in the solution of 

 others and create new problems not now antici- 

 pated ; 



2. By having the members meet together as 

 often as possible to discuss results, methods and 



