39^ Bird -Lore 



and eggs; a bird's Christmas tree, hung with suet, nuts and cracked bones, 

 fruit, etc.; a sample feeding-table; a fine collection of insects injurious to 

 agriculture, with bird charts, and the beautiful National Leaflets, all tended to 

 give great popularity to the exhibit. 



Mrs. William Yancey, Chairman of Bird Department, Bedford County, 

 for Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs, had charge of the exhibit at Bedford 

 City. Her charm of manner and earnest work has accomplished much good 

 in that section. Through her efforts many prizes were offered and awarded 

 to the children of the schools for the best essay on our native birds, for the 

 most attractive bird-box, and for the best drawing of a bird from life. Mrs. 

 Yancey also obtained one hundred signatures from the farmers of Bedford 

 County for our proposed Robin Bill. 



I had charge of the exhibit in Fredericksburg, where Capt. Dan. M. 

 Lee, brother of our national hero. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, gave me one of the best 

 positions in the Agriculture Building, and detailed his own servant to secure 

 me all trees, leaves, etc., needed for decoration. Hundreds of people visited 

 the booth from the lower counties, and seemed much interested in our work. 

 One of our visitors, to whose earnest work in the legislature we owe much, 

 was the Hon. R. C. L. Moncure, and it was here he pledged us his aid for 

 our forthcoming legislative bills. Capt. E. P. Rowe, a prominent citizen of 

 Fredericksburg, and a veteran of two wars, gave our cause great assistance 

 by presenting many farmers to me, who thus heard our plea for the conserva- 

 tion of our beautiful insectivorous birds and also our splendid game-birds. 

 Captain Rowe secured the signatures of hundreds of voters in Stafford County 

 for our proposed Robin Bill, and thus was launched at these Audubon exhibits 

 our bill to save the Robin from destruction. 



Later on, my time was fully occupied visiting the schools and teachers' 

 conferences where I spoke to ^hundreds of children and several thousand 

 teachers, superintendents and principals on Junior Audubon Classes, the non- 

 enforcement of our game laws, and the importance of a State Game Commis- 

 sioner. I formulated a petition for the protection of the Robin and had it 

 approved. The work of printing and getting all in readiness was soon accom- 

 plished, and the petitions reached my office from New York the week before 

 Christmas. The bill was framed for us by Judge J. J. M. Norton, President of 

 the Alexandria Audubon Society, and carried with it a fine of from five to 

 fifty dollars and a forfeiture of the gun to the state for violation of the law. I 

 sent the Children's Robin Petition and a copy of the bill to each of our senators 

 and representatives in Congress, to every superintendent and principal of 

 our public schools, to the presidents of our colleges; not one was omitted. The 

 teachers had charge of this work and took the greatest pride in securing the 

 signatures of the children of the various classes. The labor of sending out 

 these petitions was very great and occupied my time for two weeks, for, as 

 our Assembly opened January 12, it was important to get the bill on the cal- 



