THE AUDUBON NOTE BOOK. 



MEMBERSHIP RETURNS. 



The number of registered members at ist of June 

 was 32,670, showing an increase of 2,714 for the 

 month, distributed as follows : 



New York 643 



Pennsylvania 540 



Massachusetts 225 



New Jersey 171 



Ohio 130 



Michigan 121 



Missouri 193 



New Hampshire 45 



Kansas 72 



Kentucky 17 



Florida 2 



North Carolina 12 



Rhode Island 26 



Illinois 78 



Maine 38 



Colorado 27 



Minnesota 13 



Louisiana 82 



Connecticut 28 



West Virginia 4 



District of Columbia 12 



California i 



Vermont 6 



Tennessee 30 



Georgia 24 



Maryland 10 



Iowa IS 



New Mexico 2 



Montana i 



Wisconsin 10 



Dominion of Canada 113 



European Countries 23 



2,714 

 C. F. Amery, General Secretary. 



SLAUGHTER IN FLORIDA. 



An extract from a letter written from Pinecastle, 

 Florida, by Mr. J. Summerlin, gives some idea of the 

 difference in numbers of the Florida birds now and 

 a few years ago. No law and no sentiment protects 

 the birds in that State, and they are butchered an- 

 nually by tens of thousands. It is to be hoped that 

 the Florida Legislature, which is now in session, may 

 soon take steps to remedy this evil. Mr. Summerlin 

 says : ' ' Through my long meanderings I watched 

 closely for birds and deer. I saw but a few hundred 

 birds where formerly I had seeil from ten to twenty 

 thousand. I met plenty of hunters with buggies and 

 wagons loaded with bird plumes. The birds were 

 killed at a season of the year when they were rearing 

 their young. On passing the rookeries where the 

 hunters had been a few days previous, the screams 

 and calls of the starving young birds were pitiful to 

 hear. Some were just fledged, while others were so 

 young that they could make but little noise. But all 

 must inevitably starve to death. I asked several of 

 the hunters how many young birds were thus des- 

 troyed through their cruelty, and their estimation was 

 two to four young birds for each plume they had 

 secured. I cannot describe the horror it gave me to 

 hear the pitiful screams of the dying little birds. 

 From the number of plumes the hunters had it is but 

 fair to estimate that within thirty days, in Brevard 

 county alone, twelve hundred birds have been shot 

 for their plumes. Cannot our legislators put a stop 

 to this destruction of the birds, as they are innocent 



and do no one any harm, while their beautiful plum- 

 age is one of the attractions of Florida. In the 

 southern part of the State the birds begin pluming in 

 February. Then the hunting begins and continues 

 until May." 



THE AUDUBON BADGE. 



It has been decided to issue the Audubon badge 

 proposed in our June Note Book. Almost everybody 

 seems to want it; the young because it is ornamental 

 and distinctive, and the older ones because it is a 

 silent assertion of principles, and calculated to pro- 

 voke inquiry, paving the way to a natural and easy 



discussion of the Society and its objects. To the 

 young, moreover, it will be a constant reminder of 

 their pledges. The badge will be of coin silver as 

 already stated. The die is in course of preparation, 

 and orders will be registered forthwith. Price fifty 

 cents. Send postal note or stamps to Forest and 

 Stream Publishing Co., 40 Park Row, New York. 



A LITTLE GIRL'S OWL. 



Riverside, Ohio, June 2. 



My dear Amy — Do you remember the old tree that 

 we used to climb last summer? Two owls have 

 built a nest in it, and they have little ones. Last 

 week one of the little owls got out of the nest and 

 lost his way and we found him and we brought him 

 home and put him in the hen coop in the yard. The 

 next day what do you think we found ? At the door 

 of the coop a big fat mouse just killed. The next 

 day two dead birds were lying by the coop. The old 

 owls have found out where the little owl is and they 

 come at night and bring him food. I think we shall 

 keep him until he gets tame. I have never seen a 

 pet owl, have never you ? Don't you forget to write 

 to me about your birthday. 



Your loving cousin, ^ 



Lucy "S- . 



This letter was never intended for publication ; it 

 reached Cousin Amy as directed, and we hope inter- 

 ested her, but she lost it. Fortunately it was found 

 on the street by one of our correspondents, who 

 ihouo-ht it would be a nice letter to send to all the 

 readers of the Audubon. We do not know Lucy E. , 

 but for all that, we feel quite sure it is a true story. 

 Evidently the old bird was satisfied that Lucy wanted 

 to care for the young one and fill a mother's place, 



