10 PROCEEDINGS OP THE 



are not for the morose or mean man; of course the ornithologist 

 is a good fellow; he cannot help himself. Birds and good- 

 fellowship are, therefore, the watchwords of the D. V. 0. C. 



As has been said before, this club means a lot to some of us. 

 Warm friendships have had their birth at our meetings, and 

 with the passing years these have waxed stronger and stronger. 

 It is there that we receive the inspiration and encouragement 

 that sends us into the field full of enthusiasm and that bring& 

 us back eager to tell our story and to show the fruits of our 

 labors. 



The members of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, in 

 looking back over its twenty years of existence, see it against a 

 fair background that reaches far beyond the somber walls of the 

 Academy. 'Tis a background of woods and streams; of sandy 

 beaches where gray gulls hover; of green salt meadows where 

 curlews cry; of rolling hillsides and pine-clad mountains; of 

 shady rivers, the haunt of the wood- duck; of dark morasses 

 where dwells the heron; of breezy bays where the wild-fowl 

 flock; of lonely lakes where laughs the loon; of silent nights, 

 gleaming campfire and snug tent. The white and glistening 

 fields of winter, the tender beauty of the spring, the richness of 

 the summer-time, the glory of the autumn. The new day 

 breaking on the mountain-tops, the red sun sinking in the sea. 

 Truly "the wilderness and the solitary place" have been glad 

 for us. Blue sky and white clouds, gray mists and driving 

 storm; the crack of the gun, the tug of the sail, the stroke of 

 the paddle — these are the things that lie back of it all and 

 make us glad we have lived. To such things the elemental and 

 that which is best in us responds. We may be often in doubt 

 as to the wisdom of belonging to this or that organization, but 

 we know that the D. V. O. C. is worth while. 



After twenty years we find our little club stronger and more 

 in earnest than ever before, and thus we meet the future with 

 the confidence born of the knowledge that a good work has 

 been well begun. 



