Annual Meeting 1908 283 



Warden Service.— Bills to establish in Arkansas, Florida and South Dakota 

 State Game Commissions. It has been found that game and bird laws are useless 

 unless there is some official charged with their enforcement. 



Warning Notices.— During the present year, permission was obtained from 

 Postmaster-General Meyer for this Association to display its warning notices 

 in all of the postoffices in the United States. These notices, printed on muslin 

 for permanency, contain a brief resume of the state game and bird laws, the 

 Lacy (Interstate Commerce) Act, and the name and address of the Commissioner 

 and State Audubon Society. To guarantee the expense of such a display of warn- 

 ing notices in every postoffice in a state might easily be assumed by a citizen 

 who takes interest in good civics and the welfare of his home state. The amount 

 of benefit assured under this plan is incalculable, for it prevents the plea of 

 ignorance of the law by its violators. 



RESERVATIONS AND WARDENS 



Through the means of reservations, this Association has been able to demon- 

 strate to the public the practical value of bird refuges. Whether the land has 

 been set aside by the Federal Government, or is held under lease by the Asso- 

 ciation, the wardens who guard the birds occupying the reserves are paid by 

 this Association, and this additional but necessary tax upon our resources has 

 grown very rapidly during the past year, and bids fair to expand very greatly 

 in the near future. The possibilities for good of this feature of Association work 

 are so full of promise that I am warranted in making a special and urgent appeal 

 for a large fund to be devoted entirely to the acquisition of bird refuges and the 

 proper care of the same. The refuges already secured are for sea-birds, and, 

 in addition to many more of these, there should be established refuges for land 

 birds, especially such as Grouse and Quail, where experiments in propagation 

 could be made. If the tract were large enough and had within its borders ponds, 

 lakes, streams and marshes, the experiment could be made to cover wild fowl 

 also. Here also might be found an opportunity to carry on experimental work 

 with methods of attracting birds by artificial breeding-places, in order to demon- 

 strate their real value to agriculture and forestry. It is impossible for me, in the 

 space at my disposal, to more than hint at the wonderful results to the country 

 that may be achieved in this direction; moreover, on such reserves scientific 

 forestry might be practiced, and the reserves thus be made self-supporting in 

 time. The plan of reserves must appeal to every enlightened citizen of the coun- 

 try, especially those who are nature lovers, and who deplore and would prevent 

 the wasting of our natural assets; further, the educational value of the experi- 

 ments conducted on such reserves would be very great, and would no doubt 

 influence individual owners of large tracts of land, as well as municipalities, 

 to apply the same methods on their estates and park lands. 



In conclusion, I wish to emphasize the thought that the National Association 



