216 THE CONDOR Vol. X 



Guadalupe Island and other Lower California points that at that time were little 

 known: the nesting of the Western Evening Grosbeak was for the first time authen- 

 tically described and a superb photo in colors of the nest and eggs was published as 

 a supplement to the "Nid"; the nesting of the White-throated Swift was also 

 described for the first time authenticall^^ Numerous photos were published illus- 

 trating papers and articles, and in general the close of 1896 showed a very satisfac- 

 tory record . But better than all the work done and records made was the under- 

 current of co-operation that had set its permanent tide in movement to carry up- 

 ward to success the work of ornithology in California; we couldn't see it then, but 

 it is plain enough when we look back and muse on the old days, and when we com- 

 pare them with the present. 



With the May, 1897, issue, the old "Nid" suspended publication after nearly 

 four 3^ears' life, and the Cooper Club was without an official organ for over a year; 

 but the necessity for such being obvious, the necessary steps were taken during the 

 fall of 1898 for the publication of a Club Bulletin, and at the annual meeting of 

 January, 1899, the final resolutions establishing the Bulletin were passed and the 

 initial number appeared at once. This time between the cessation of the Nidolo- 

 gist and the issuance of the Club Bulletin was really the critical period of the 

 Cooper Club's existence, and but for the tireless efforts of certain members, among 

 whom shine out Barlow, Emerson, Grinnell, McGregor, and Taylor, the interest of 

 the members was in a fair way to cool. More than this, the older and gray-headed 

 members of the Club scoffed at the idea of maintaining an official Bulletin and pre- 

 dicted disaster; but they were in the minority and disregarded, and time has shown 

 them wrong. 



So with the January, 1899, issue the first number of the Bulletin of the Cooper 

 Ornithological Club was launched, and it marked a new era for the Club and for 

 California ornithology. A new tone was manifest at once; it was as if we had all 

 come to a realization of the fact that we were engaged in earnest work and had as- 

 sumed responsibilities that we must carry to a successful issue; we had started 

 something in the face of opposition that our pride spurred us to finish. Besides, 

 we were growing older; and the papers published showed at once a more serious 

 tone and an absence of a flippancy that had no place in a scientific journal. The 

 description of new species began, and to Richard C. McGregor belongs the honor of 

 describing the first new race published in the new Bulletin; four new birds were 

 described during the first year of the Bulletin and many valuable records of rare 

 and little known species were given to the world. 



Chester Barlow — responsible for the formation of the Cooper Club nearly six 

 years before and strongest advocate of the new Bulletin, main-stay and hardest 

 worker of us all — shouldered the brunt of the work and assumed the editorship of 

 the new journal; H. R. Taylor and Howard Robertson were his assistants and Don 

 Cohen and A. I. McCormick handled the business end. Gradualh^ the quality of 

 the journal bettered; half-tones began to be used in profusion and the size of the 

 issues increased almost monthly; things went merrily as a wedding bell till No- 

 vember 6, 1902; and then, a bolt out of a clear sky, came the news of Barlow's 

 death. I need not dilate on the extent of our loss; to know Barlow was to love 

 him and we all knew him. Personally his place can never be filled in our hearts; 

 but as far as the Condor was concerned, Walter Fisher stepped into the editor's 

 chair and held it for three years and his work speaks for him stronger than can I. 

 On his voluntary retirement at the end of 1905, Mr. Joseph Grinnell took the reins 

 and is the present incumbent. 



One has but to run over the files of the Bulletin of the Cooper Ornithological 



