The Audubon Society. 



19 



MEMBERSHIP OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETY. 



The numerical strength of the Audubon Society by 

 States on Dec. 31, 18S6, with the number of Local 

 Secretares, is told in the following table: 



No. of 

 Stui'^. Local 

 See's. 



New York 64 



Massachusetts . 36 

 Philadelphia.. . 28 



Ohio 33 



New Jersey 27 



Connecticut .... 16 

 Rhode Island. . . 6 



Maine 2 



Vermont 6 



New Hampshire 6 



Illinois 10 



Michigan 6 



.Minnesota 2 



Kansas 6 



Nebraska i 



Wisconsin i 



Colorado i 



Dakota i 



Wyoming i 



Indian Territory i 



No. of 

 Mem- 

 bers. 

 6322 

 1922 

 164s 

 1123 

 1162 



540 

 520 

 5° 

 373 

 3S5 

 396 

 434 



State. 



See's. 



Nevada — 



Iowa 9 



Kentucky 4 



Arkansas 2 



Texas 2 



California i 



Dist. Columbia. 3 



Indiana 5 



Virginia &W.Va 4 

 North Carolina. 2 

 South Carolina, i 



Missouri 4 



Tennessee 2 



Georgia i 



Florida 2 



Maryland 3 



Delaware — 



New Orleans. . . i 

 Dom. of Canada 16 



No. of No. of 

 Local Mejn- 



30 

 104 



32 

 127 



139 

 177 

 22 



30 

 46 



54 



45 



S7 



192 



Total registered 17,723 



This distribution is not precisely accurate — it rep- 

 resents the number of certificates sent out from head- 

 quarters to the several States and Territories indi- 

 cated, but as Local Secretaries frequently enHst 

 members resident beyond their borders, the actual 

 count of pledges would differ somewhat from the 

 above returns. The General Secretary, too, in his 

 capacity of Local Secretary for New York city, counts 

 all his issues to the credit of New York State, hence 

 the table gives no clue to the residence of those not 

 enlisted through a resident Local Secretary. The 

 Society numbers in its ranks a few stragglers from 

 far and wide, who describe themselves as residents of 

 England, Wales, France, Russia, Burmah, Japan, 

 with one red Indian to round off the list. 



Besides the above, a very energetic secretary in 

 Michigan, Mrs. C. R. Bacon, of Grand Rapids, has 

 by a systematic canvass of the schools, enlisted up- 

 ward of three thousand members, not yet registered, 

 making our grand total for the year in excess of 

 twenty thousand. 



ASSOCIATE MEMBERS. . 



The announcement in another column that we have 

 opencvl a separate register for the enrollment of Asso- 

 ciaiv' Members, will be read with satisfaction by many 

 warm friends of the movement, who shrink from sub- 

 scribing to a pledge of any sort. The Audubon 

 pledge is really nothing more than an undertaking 

 to do or abstain from certain acts, as long as in the 

 judgment of the subscriber it shall be obviously right 

 to do or abstain from them; but bv association of 



ideas many people regard the act of taking a pledge 

 as objectionable, or at least find it distasteful. The 

 correspondence of the Society during the past year 

 has brought to light many phases of this sentiment. 



Some people's self-respect forbids their taking a 

 pledge, because the act may be held to imply that they 

 dare not trust themselves to abide by the prescribed 

 line of conduct, unless bound by a solemn obligation. 

 They hold it sufficient to pledge themselves to them- 

 selves, and regard it as detracting from their dignity 

 to hold themselves open'-"^ pledged to society. 



Others again are withheld by a very sensitive con- 

 science, from subscribing to a pledge which, strictly 

 interpreted, may imply more than they are capable of 

 performing. To them a phrase may mean a great 

 deal more than would be ascribed to it by ordinary 

 matter-of-fact people; a great deal more, perhaps, 

 than was in the mind of the one who formulated it, 

 for at the best, words express ideas but very im- 

 perfectly. 



On the whole the system of issuing certificates of 

 membership based on subscription to the prescribed 

 pledges, has worked very satisfactorily, and will be 

 continued ; but it is obviously desirable that the 

 Society should have some avenue open for the admis- 

 sion of all who approve of its objects, abide by its 

 requirements, who are ready to co-operate for its 

 extension, and only withheld from association by 

 motives which command our respect; and as stated 

 it has been decided to open our portals for the recep- 

 tion of associate members. We have some already 

 working for us, and rendering us very valuable co- 

 operation, and by that co-operation demonstrating 

 the imperfection of a system which excludes them 

 from acknowledged membership. 



The certificate of membership cannot be given to 

 associate members because, as above said, it is based 

 on subscription to a pledge. 



The new departure was suggested by outside 

 friends, and was not resolved on until after mature 

 deliberation. Now that it has been adopted we trust 

 that all friends of the movement, all who are desir- 

 ous of saving our birds from reckless extermination, 

 will associate themselves with us, for in a great 

 movement such as this is fast becoming, numbers 

 exercise an important influence not only in moulding 

 legislation, but also in swaying public opinion to the 

 support of the laws. 



What is a Bird ? — That is not such an easy 

 question to answer, as any one may discover by try- 

 ing to tell just what a bird is and how it differs from 

 all other animals. The President of the American 

 Ornithologists' Union has written a paper on this 

 subject, which will appear in our next number. 



