3i8 Bird -Lore 



Audubon Society. It is good to feel that this work is commending itself to 

 the public. This is the first legac}^ that has ever been received by an 

 Audubon Society, but the Association feels sure that this one is but the fore- 

 runner of many to follovi^ in the future. In these days of philanthropy such 

 an important public movement as organized bird protection is sure to be 

 recognized. The report of the secretary, Miss Drummond, is given in 

 detail : 



"The Audubon Society, at its eighth annual meeting, adopted a change 

 in the constitution, increasing the number of directors from fourteen to 

 tw^enty. From the various reports read at this meeting the following items 

 are taken : 



"The membership has been increased by the addition of 88 adults and 

 5,083 juniors, making the number joining since the organization of the so- 

 ciety, about 1,100 adults and 20,142 juniors. Of these, about 115 pay 

 annual dues of one dollar. The organization of a committee of 28 persons, 

 not directors, into a membership committee proved a success, and was partly 

 responsible for the increased membership. No semi-annual meeting was held 

 last fall, the directors feeling that one public meeting a year was all that 

 was needed. 



"Only two leaflets were issued during the year, one being a short letter 

 to teachers by our new chairman of the junior work, Miss Ethel E. Hooper ; 

 the other, an excellent four-page leaflet on the Study of Birds, prepared by 

 Miss AHce Hall Walter. An excellent little pamphlet, 'Bird Study in the 

 Rural Schools,' by Thomas L. Hankinson, one of our Illinois teachers, has 

 been a help in our work, and a book by Mr. D. Lange on the Birds of 

 lUinois' is being published under the auspices of the Illinois Society. Various 

 other leaflets have been purchased from the National Association and else- 

 where, so that 9,770 have been sent out. Of these, a number have gone to 

 teachers, farmers, women's clubs, etc., and a letter from the Junior Chair- 

 man, enclosing several leaflets, has been sent to each county superintendent 

 of schools in the state. Mr. Charles M. Roe has allowed us to place our 

 leaflets in his book -store in Chicago. 



"As a session of the State Legislature was held last winter, our Legal 

 Committee took measures by which all proposed changes in laws relating to 

 birds were at once reported to the chairman, and, when bills were introduced 

 against the interests of the birds, letters were at once written to the proper 

 persons urging adverse action. A letter urging the re-appointment of our 

 present game commissioner was sent to the governor. 



"Numbers of meetings have been held during the year by teachers, and 

 farmers' institutes, women's clubs, etc., and our one illustrated lecture, with 

 its fifty-six slides, has done excellent work. For some unknown reason, our 

 libraries lead lazy lives, — there is almost no demand for them. Our school 

 work is most encouraging, many of the teachers being thoroughly interested 



