The Audubon Societies 



183 



We learn by the receipts that the libraries 

 are not so much in use during the fall and 

 winter as in the spring, when outdoor ob- 

 servation can be carried on in connection 

 with the reading, which proves that a prac- 

 tical use is made of the books. 



Pictures always appeal to children, and to 

 satisfy a demand for "more pictures," four 

 new libraries of eleven books each, profusely 

 illustrated, have been added this spring. 



We feel that there can be no more satis- 

 factory way of reaching the children than 

 through the medium of these good books, 

 for to them not only the children, but the 

 older ones in the community, will owe an 

 influence in their lives which can hardly be 

 overestimated. 



Grace R. Moody, Librarian. 



FLORIDA SOCIETYl 



It may be of interest to some of your 

 readers to know that Florida, the land of 

 sunshine, flowers and balmy breezes, has at 

 last awakened to the fact that these com- 

 bined are not all that make their state so 

 attractive and so different. They find (even 

 the most unconcerned) that their rivers, 

 lakes and woods are strangely silent, and 

 that some of the old-time charm and beauty 

 has gone. The tourist misses the pictur- 

 esque Heron, the White Crane with his 

 wise look of intentness, as with one leg 

 poised he waits by some quiet sheet of water 

 for his daily meal. The woods are no 

 longer alive with birds darting hither and 

 thither and filling the air with their cheerful 

 songs, the cheer-up, cheer-up that de- 

 lighted our fancy. The birds whom we 

 were sure some years ago said Deivey, 

 Deivey, Deavey, and even the harsh note 

 of the pretty Blue Jay are in some parts of 

 the state things of the past. A visitor from 

 Porto Rico told me there were no birds there 

 and added, "to this you will soon come un- 

 less you protect your few remaining birds." 

 So some to whom these feathered songsters 

 are real friends, and who grieved to see 

 them so wantonly destroyed, met together 

 and the Florida Audubon sprang into exist- 

 ence. Hardly had its work begun when it 

 suffered a great loss in the death of its 



founder, Mrs. L. F. Dommerich. But those 

 who are still members will try and carry on 

 the work so wisely planned by her. At the 

 first annual meeting, March 8, great in- 

 terest was shown. Bishop Whipple* is still 

 its honored president, and many persons of 

 influence are enlisted in our ranks, and the 

 work is again going on. Letters from all 

 over the state are daily received by the sec- 

 retary and new members are being added. 

 In West Palm Beach and Daytona, very 

 active interest is shown and strong measures 

 taken to protect bird life. Literature and 

 leaflets are being distributed throughout the 

 state, and we trust in a few years our eyes 

 and ears will be gladdened as of old. Sun- 

 shine, flowers and the happy song of our 

 thousands of native birds, and Florida is 

 Paradise indeed. 



Mrs. I. Vanderpool, Secretary. 



For Our Encouragement 



"Birds are ten times as numerous as they 

 were five years ago," said a farmer to me, 

 as we were driving along a country road in 

 North Missouri, in July, 1901. 



"How do you account for it?" I asked. 



"Well," he replied, "there are several 

 reasons. Principally, because they are let 

 alone. The boys have stopped killing 

 them. There is no more demand for them 

 for women's hats. The farmers learned, 

 too, that their orchards and grain crops 

 were suffering from insects, and they were 

 informed by writers in the newspapers and 

 magazines that the remedy was in saving 

 the birds. So their children were told not 

 to disturb them nor their nests. 



"I have seen a number of articles written 

 by women, in such papers as the New York 

 Tribune and St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 

 pleading for the birds, and remonstrating 

 against the wicked custom of wearing them 

 on hats. Such articles are quoted and 

 talked about in the country, and have a 

 great influence. Another thing; — we farm- 

 ers have made a fight against the English 

 Sparrow. We will not let him stay about 

 our barns or houses. The children are 



* While this report is on the press we learn with deep 

 regret of Bishop Whipple's death. — Ed. 



