The Audubon Societies 



1 99 



'Well, lady, if you are not afraid of those 

 men, we are not.' 



"Truly these birds are not wild. Others 

 of their kind and additional species may 

 be approached as easily. I have done it 

 with Blue-winged I'eal, Grebes, Rails, and 

 other birds that are relentlessly hunted. 



There is no magic pathway to their 

 favor. All you have to do is to convince 

 them that you are a safe person to asso- 

 ciate with and generous enough to invite 

 them to dinner and they will do the rest. 

 Try it. — (Mrs.) Etta S. Wilson, Detroit, 

 Mich. 



MERIDEN (N. H.) BIRD CLUB 



The following report of the Meriden 

 (New Hampshire) Bird Club has been re- 

 ceived from the President, Mr. Harry B. 

 Preston: 



"The activities of the Club, which were 

 somewhat interrupted by the period of the 

 war, were resumed at the beginning of 1919. 

 In spite of the cost of labor and building 

 material, considerable progress was made 

 toward the completion of our Bird Con- 

 servation Museum, and it will soon be 

 ready to receive its exhibits. Our Bird 

 Sanctuary attracted an unusually large 

 number of visitors during the summer 

 months. 'Bird Sunday,' which has become 

 an annual institution, was observed on 

 August 31 by special services at which 

 Rev. Manley B. Townsend was the speaker. 



In connection with his visit to Meriden, 

 Mr. Townsend, then Secretary of the New 

 Hampshire Audubon Society, delivered an 

 illustrated lecture before the Club on tlie 

 subject, 'Special Adaptations of Birds.' 

 Earlier in August Constance McKay's 

 'The Forest Princess' was performed at the 

 outdoor theatre in the Sanctuary. The 

 village people and the summer residents 

 cooperated in this performance, and the 

 audience was drawn from the summer 

 colonies in all the surrounding towns. 



"Altogether the work of our Club is 

 attracting each year a more widespread 

 interest, a fact that is shown by the 

 associate membership list which in- 

 cludes people from every section of the 

 country." 



BIRDS POISONED 



The subject of the killing of birds by 

 means of poison, put out to destroy the 

 troublesome rodents in the West, contin- 

 ues to arouse comment and criticism in 

 various sections of the country. The fol- 

 lowing is contributed by M. Helen Dyer, 

 of Los Angeles: 



"Poisoned barley menaces the bird-life 

 of southern California. The Meadowlark, 

 with his sweet note, fast is becoming ex- 

 tinct along country highways. Many 

 others of our useful feathered friends are 

 passing away, killed by eating poisons 

 carelessly strewn to exterminate ground 

 squirrels. Cannot the Audubon Society 

 do something to compel users of squirrel 

 poison to place it in squirrel holes instead 



of sowing it broadcast? With the extinc- 

 tion of bird life, insect pests will multiply 

 and quickly become a greater problem to 

 farmers than the squirrels are. Some years 

 ago the mongoose was introduced into the 

 Island of Jamaica to exterminate the rats 

 which were ravaging the sugar-cane. The 

 mongoose killed off the rats, and then 

 killed off the birds, and conditions are more 

 disastrous than they were originally. To- 

 day it is almost impossible to raise poultry 

 in Jamaica, while ticks, formerly preyed 

 upon by birds, have become exceedingly 

 abundant. Destruction of our birds 

 would bring a swift and painful punish- 

 ment to our agriculturists and arboricul- 

 turists." 



