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Bird - Lore 



bay birds, practically all of them harmless, 

 thrown open to inexcusable slaughter by 

 this act. It showed by the best of evidence 

 that there was no demand from the fishing 

 interests for such a retrograde step, that 

 there was no complaint against any of these 

 birds, with the possible exception of King- 

 fishers, and that the proposed legislation 

 was in the interest of no class save plume- 

 hunters and those who supply "specimens" 

 for the curio trade. The legislation remov- 

 ing protection from these birds, many spe- 

 cies of which are already nearly wiped out 

 by market and plume-hunters, is roundly 

 condemned by every recognized naturalist 

 and deplored by all classes, except those 

 who slaughter and exterminate bird-life for 

 coin. The Audubon Society is making an 

 effort to remedy this legislation, for which 

 no doubt a great majority of the legislators 

 voted unthinkingly, by an appeal to county 

 supervisors to protect the Terns, Herons 

 and other harmless water-birds, other than 

 game-birds, by county ordinances, which 

 supervisors have authority to do under the 

 county government act. 



A carefully prepared and up-to-date bill 

 for the protection of non-game birds, amend- 

 ing the law passed two years ago, was 

 urged by the Audubon Society. The bill 

 was modeled after the best non-game bird 

 laws recently enacted in eastern states, had 

 been revised, by a representative of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture, at Washington, 

 and was indorsed and approved by more 

 than forty farmers' organizations of the 

 state. It should have had the support of 

 every person who favors an effective law to 

 stop the further destruction of our harmless 

 bird-life. By the efforts of Mr. Ludington, 

 Assemblyman from San Diego county, and 

 a member of the Audubon Society, the bill 

 passed the Assembly with practically no 

 opposition. In the Senate, it was favorably 

 reported by the Fish and Game Committee 

 and passed to the third-reading file, where 

 influences beyond the society's control pre- 

 vented it from being called up for final vote. 



A thoroughly commendable amendment 

 to the trespass law, providing for the 

 proper protection of uninclosed and other 

 private lands, was introduced and success- 



fully carried through the Senate by Senator 

 Walter F. Price, of Santa Rosa, but in the 

 Assembly met a fate similar to that of the 

 Audubon non-game bird bill in the Senate. 

 Had adjournment been delayed a few days 

 longer, both of these bills could probably 

 have been passed. — W. Scott Way. 



In February Bird-Lore, page 53, refer- 

 ence was made to the splendid efforts of 

 Mrs. Alice L. Park, Chairman, Humane 

 Education Committee of the California 

 Federation of Women's Clubs, to establish 

 Bird Day in the schools of California. 



Mrs. Park was successful in the legisla- 

 ture in passing the bill, but the Governor 

 vetoed it, much to the indignation of the 

 club women of California. 



His action in this matter was hard to 

 understand in view of the fact that he 

 signed a bill appropriating five thousand 

 dollars to purchase rifles for schoolboys. 

 The minds of some statesmen certainly 

 work in queer channels. 



California will have other governors in 

 the future; let us hope that one may be 

 elected who will recognize the great benefit 

 to the school children of the state, of Bird 

 Day and what it stands for, bird protection 

 and good civics. — W. D. 



Connecticut. — The prospect for better 

 legislation for the protection of wild fowl 

 and shore birds in Connecticut seemed at 

 first sight rather discouraging. Keepers of 

 shore hotels, owners of boat liveries, and 

 some of the older gunners have always been 

 in favor of spring shooting, and resented 

 any attempt to shorten the open season as 

 being an unwarranted interference with 

 their business. It was through the efforts of 

 these people, and the resulting influence on 

 the legislature, that Connecticut took a retro- 

 grade step, which extended the open sea- 

 son to May I. The agent of the National 

 Association undertook a journey along the 

 coast of Connecticut, making inquiries 

 among the older gunners, and all agreed 

 that the number of wild Ducks and Geese 

 had fallen off tremendously in the past sixty 

 or seventy years, that their destruction 

 within the last thirty years had been even 

 more rapid than before that time, and that the 



