The Audubon Societies 



131 



for those who wish to remain throughout, 

 or repeated for newcomers. Further even- 

 ing lectures will be given, a"nd recreational 

 and social features will be especially em- 

 phasized. 



Rooms may be secured at Amston Inn 

 or adjacent cottages or camps, with meals 

 at the Inn. The Audubon House is a social 

 headquarters of the Association, and has 



quite a complete collection of bird speci- 

 mens, a working Nature library, and other 

 exhibits. Amston is 10 miles west of Willi- 

 mantic, and everything is within walking 

 distance of the railway station. 



Circulars with full details and terms will 

 be mailed to all who inquire. Write to the 

 Director, Herbert K. Job, West Haven, 

 Conn., or to our New York office. 



EGRET PROTECTION IN THE SOUTHERN STATES 



A brighter day is dawning for the per- 

 secuted Egrets of the United States, now 

 confined almost entirely to the southeastern 

 states. It is generally conceded that but 

 for the efforts of this Association, the large 

 Egret and the little Snowy Egret would 

 have become almost, if not entirely, extinct 

 by this time in Florida, Georgia, and the 

 Carolinas. 



It has been a long, uphill fight for many 

 years to raise funds and secure good agents 

 to guard the few remaining nesting colonies 

 of these birds. We have had practically 

 no help under the state laws. Florida has 

 no state game-warden system. The assist- 

 ance of the United States Government has, 

 heretofore, been very meager. More funds 

 having become available, the Biological 

 Survey has entered upon a definite policy 

 of putting some of their agents actively in 

 the field to apprehend and prosecute those 

 who kill these birds. As these lines are 

 written several of its agents are in Florida, 



which certainly means that much will be 

 accomplished. Last year the Government's 

 agents made a seizure of plumes at Miami 

 and conducted a successful prosecution, 

 which was well advertised throughout the 

 state. A few more legal actions of this 

 kind will have a most salutary effect on 

 the movements of the plume-hunters. 



It is confidently expected that the mem- 

 bers and friends of the Association will 

 continue to make it possible for us to em- 

 ploy as complete a series of guards for the 

 Egret colonies as it is possible to procure, 

 and with the active and hearty cooperation 

 of the Government, which is now actually 

 in operation, there seems no reason why 

 the Egrets should not again increase and 

 be brought back to their old haunts much 

 in the same way that the Gulls and Terns 

 along our eastern coastline have been 

 restored through the legislative, educa- 

 tional, and warden work of this Associa- 

 tion. 



AN INTERESTING LETTER 



The following letter, written March 4, 

 1920, has been received from E. W. Nelson, 

 Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey: 



^'Dear Mr. Pearson: It will interest you 

 to know that a few days ago Pacetti, with 

 United States Game Wardens, Farnham 

 and Birsch, arrested William B. Macken- 

 son, of Kissemmee, and found in his posses- 

 sion the plumes of one hundred large and 

 small Egrets in addition to those of other 

 Herons, which were estimated locally to 

 be valued at $12,000. Mr. Mackenson was 

 promptly taken into court, tried, and fined 



$250 and the plumes confiscated. As you 

 have formerly advised me he is an 

 old offender in Florida and we are greatly 

 pleased to have been able to capture him. 

 I hope that our wardens may be able to 

 get other plumers before the season is 

 over. 



"United States Warden Smith, at Nor- 

 folk, recently seized a wagon-load of Ducks 

 and Geese which he found illegally held in 

 a number of cold storage plants in that 

 place. He was instructed to turn these over 

 to the naval and other hospitals in that 



