172 
present abhorrent conditions. It will 
not be sufficient for us to merely argue the 
question of whether birds are noxious or 
beneficial; we all know that certain of the 
valuable and interesting birds of the world 
are being rapidly exterminated, and it is 
our duty to take steps to stop this ex- 
termination. If this matter is referred to 
a Committee, it must be to one that will 
not sleep, and only awaken five years from 
now, when another Congress is held. 
By that time it may, and probably will 
be, too late to save several species of 
birds that soon must be classed among 
extinct forms, the list of which is already 
too large. 
Members of the Congress, I leave you 
these thoughts for your earnest considera- 
tion. 
The Mary Dutcher Memorial Fund 
The absence of Mr. Dutcher, while 
attending the International Ornithologi- 
cal Congress, was considered by a number 
of his friends to be an admirable oppor- 
tunity to give tangible expression to the 
esteem in which he and his work are held 
by every one in this country interested 
in the protection of birds. Under the 
leadership of Mr. W. W. Grant, a com- 
mittee was therefore formed and contri- 
butions solicited to a fund which, in 
commemoration of the sympathy and 
support Mr. Dutcher’s daughter, during 
her. all too brief life, had always given 
her father in his ceaseless labors, was 
named the Mary Dutcher Memorial Fund. 
Both the number and the character of 
the responses which were received to the 
committee’s circular letter, showed that 
the plan it proposed met with the most 
widespread and hearty approval. Although 
only a short time was available, and this 
at an unfavorable season, the fund 
amounted to nearly $7,000 before July 1, 
and additions to it are still being made 
daily. 
This substantial testimonial was pre- 
sented to Mr. Dutcher, as President of the 
National Association of Audubon So- 
cieties, at a luncheon given to him on 
July 14, shortly after his return from 
Bird - Lore 
Europe, and if each contributor to the 
fund could have seen the profound sense 
of appreciation with which it was ac- 
cepted, his pleasure in taking part in 
this well-deserved tribute would have 
been more than doubled. 
It is proposed that the interest on the 
Mary Dutcher Fund be used in such a 
manner that a report on the results 
attending its expenditure be rendered 
yearly.—F. M. C. 
Bird Legislation in England 
There is now before the British Parlia- 
ment a “Bill to Prohibit the Sale or Ex- 
change of the Plumage and Skins of 
Certain Wild Birds.” Section one reads 
as follows: 
“ty. (z) Any person who, after the 
commencement of this Act, shall have in 
his possession for the purpose of sale or 
exchange the plumage or skin, or any 
part of the plumage or skin, of any dead 
wild bird imported or brought into the 
United Kingdom on or after the first day 
of January, one thousand nine hundred and 
eleven, which is included in the schedule 
to this Act, or not exempted from the 
operation of this Act, shall be guilty 
of an offence, and shall on summary 
conviction be liable for the first offence to 
a penalty of not exceeding five pounds, 
and for every subsequent offence, to a 
penalty of not exceeding twenty-five 
pounds, and in every case the court shall 
order the forfeiture and destruction of 
the articles in respect of which the of- 
fence has been committed.” 
There are six sections in the bill; all 
except the first one relate to enforcement 
and exceptions. The schedule is compre- 
hensive, and when the bill becomes a law 
it will do much toward stamping out the 
use of the plumage of wild birds for 
millinery ornaments; further, it very 
closely follows the recommendations of 
the International Committee in regard 
to non-importation. 
SCHEDULE 
The Birds of Paradise. 
Sseide. 
Family Paradi- 
