The Audubon Societies 



189 



News from Texas 



During a full term and two extra ses- 

 sions, the Texas Audubon Society main- 

 tained a committee at Austin for work with 

 the Legislature, seeking betterments of 

 the Texas bird and game law, and making 

 a strong fight against the enactment of 

 objectionable amendments, several of the 

 latter having been offered with rather 

 formidable support. In procuring amend- 

 ments for the improvement of the law we 

 cannot claim to have been very successful, 

 for we lost all we asked for, except one, 

 which provides for a residence license fee, 

 to go to the support of the state warden 

 system. Otherwise, the bird and game law 

 remains unchanged, and it is good for the 

 purposes, having withstood all the tests 

 of the courts. 



We asked for a provision under which 

 the Bureau of Biological Survey of the 

 United States could send its experts into 

 the field to take birds for scientific pur- 

 poses, at all seasons. We also asked that 

 this clause should permit an expert each 

 representing four of the most important 

 universities of the state to take birds for 

 the purpose of stomach analysis in the 

 interests of science, and for the benefit of 

 the farmers. That was an important 

 amendment, and it was lost, although it 

 was properly safeguarded. The privilege 

 of taking birds for scientific purposes 

 under the law enacted in 1903 was abused, 

 and it was impossible to reconcile the Leg- 

 islature to the enactment of such an 

 amendment, however much it might be 

 hedged about with conditions absolutely 

 preventing abuse. In the matter of the 

 residence license fee, we asked that it 

 might cover the entire state, and apply 

 to all gunners, even such as should shoot 

 on their own premises. Such a provision 

 would have eliminated a hoard of objec- 

 tionable shooters, using cheap guns, but 

 we could not make the Legislature see 

 it that way. The resident license amend- 

 ment exempts persons in their home coun- 

 ties and in the counties adjacent to their 

 home counties. Nevertheless, it will do a 

 world of good, and if the license fees are all 



collected it will add not less than $50,000 

 to the state game warden fund, and this 

 ought to extend actual and efficient pro- 

 tection throughout the state. 



We defeated the annually recurring 

 effort of the market hunters to open up 

 the markets for game, and, in doing so, 

 we gained a great battle, for the attempts 

 of the market hunters were strongly 

 backed by misguided and misinformed 

 citizens and the fight was a hot one. 



The series of lectures conducted by the 

 Texas Audubon Society for over three 

 years had a wonderful effect, and much 

 good came to our cause from the visit to 

 Texas, during the session of the Legisla- 

 ture, of National Secretary T. Gilbert 

 Pearson, who lectured in the Auditorium 

 of the University of Texas, giving stere- 

 optican views while the Legislature was 

 in session. Mr. Pearson also visited 

 Mexico, and started a movement in the 

 trans-Rio Grande republic which is already 

 being felt in the cooperation of the bird 

 protectionists of Mexico, along the Texas 

 border. 



During the session of the Legislature 

 it is estimated that over five thousand let- 

 ters were written to state senators and 

 representatives by Audubon men and 

 women of Texas. All these agencies, 

 brought to bear at the proper time, had 

 wonderful effect, and as we are continuing 

 the work we firmly believe that when the 

 next Legislature meets we will make a still 

 further advance. We are delighted to state 

 that from the time the Texas Audubon 

 Society took up the fight there has been 

 no retroversion in the march for the pro- 

 tection of the wild birds and animals of 

 this colossal state. — M. B. Davis, Secre- 

 tary, Texas Audubon Society. 



Mosquito Inlet Reservation 



Everything is going on very nicely on the 

 reservation; we have hatched and raised 

 a large number of birds this year, as there 

 have been no storms to destroy the young 

 birds. We have a specially nice lot of 

 Least Terns. The only enemies of the birds 

 are a few skunks. — B. J. Pacetti, Warden. 



