completion of the organization of the Members, the following members of the board 

 are designated as Member-trustees, and will be asked to serve in that capacity, 

 pending the necessary amendment of the charter and until their successors are 

 appointed: Cadwallader Washburn (1921), John R. Pemberton (1922), Frank C. 

 Willard (1923), W. Leon Dawson (1924), and E. Raymond Driver (1925). In the 

 nomination of trustees, these rather strict qualifications probably ought to be 

 observed: First, identification with the ranks of oology, whether as field collector or 

 patron; Second, a reasonable ability on the part of the incumbent to contribute, either 

 by means or effort, to the upbuilding of the M. C. O. Third, residence in Santa 

 Barbara; or in case of non-residence an ability to visit the Museum at least as often 

 as once in two years, in order to keep in personal touch with its work. No one 

 would wish to accept a merely formal incumbency. This arrangement manifestly 

 guarantees the validity of membership, and it justifies our claim that the M. C. O is 

 a co-operative institution founded and maintained for the good of the craft. At the 

 same time, it assures responsible local management and the integrity of local 

 interests. 



The objects to be secured by the new organization of members are three in 

 number, each implying the others, yet of sufficient distinctness to deserve extended 

 consideration here. In the first place, we wish to establish oological fellowship 

 throughout the world. The devotees of this pursuit naturally seek the fellowship 

 of their own kind, but means have hitherto been lacking. The barriers of caste or 

 nationality or provincialism have been too strong hitherto; but now the barriers are 

 down. Walls of prejudice have been razed; the horizon of science has been enlarged; 

 boundaries of interest have been effaced, and fellowship is in the air. "United we 

 stand, divided we fall," must be the motto of all self-conscious interests today, 

 whether social, political, religious or scientific. The interest in oology has come to 

 self-consciousness; the futility of scattered, unrelated efforts has been clearly 

 demonstrated. Indeed, the reproach of futility which has long lain upon the claims 

 of oology, is clearly seen to have been due to the confusion of detail and to lack of 

 correlation among oologists, rather than to any defect of value in the subject itself. 



It is doubly important to serve fellowship here; first, that a real science may be 

 evolved; and, second, because the collecting of birds' eggs, whether followed as a 

 fad, a pursuit, or a passion, is likely to become at least a major avocation, a thing 

 for grown men and women to take seriously, and not to dismiss with the other 

 "illusions of youth." Such an interest, so conceived, deserves a recognition, an organ, 

 and a fellowship. This fellowship may well eventuate in annual meetings of increas- 

 ing importance and in the establishment of traditions which shall guide the science 

 henceforth. 



In the second place, we wish to secure the mutual benefit of all qualified 

 collectors and votaries of the science. This may be done (1) through the quickening 

 of enthusiasm, (2) through the dissemination of information, (3) through exchange 

 of material, (4) through co-operation in a common cause, and, practically, (5) through 

 the establishment of a Bureau of Registration. To dwell only upon the last point, 

 the management of the M. C. O. announces that it has established and will main- 

 tain on file for the benefit of the Members of the M. C. O. a roster of the world's 

 collections and the world's collectors, together with all available information regarding 

 the status, experience, and special interests of all such collectors, and the scope, 

 characteristics, and special claims of all such collections. The information afforded by 

 the files will be supplemented upon request of Members by confidential or personal 

 advice upon any subject legitimately connected with oology. 



In the matter of exchange, it is not the present intention of the management to 

 conduct a "general exchange business," nor to provide a medium for public advertising, 

 such as that already afforded, for example, in Mr. Skinner's excellent "Oological Ex- 

 change and Mart." It is rather to place the resources of this institution at the service 

 of those who require very special material, or who wish to make private or exclusive 

 arrangements through correspondence. 



The quickening of enthusiasm and the dissemination of information require an 

 organ, perhaps several of them, and it is this aspect of the case which we would 

 especially urge upon the immediate attention of the world's collectors and the 

 votaries of oological science. It is notorious that no such publication as the one 

 proposed exists. Collectors' mediums and trade journals do not constitute the 

 organ we contemplate. They support the movement, rather, and argue the necessity 

 for such a dignified, scholarly, and comprehensive journal as we propose. It is patent, 

 also, that the regular ornithological publications are a little restive over the offerings 

 of articles dealing with oological specialties. We have trespassed upon their hos- 

 pitality long enough. We ought, in all consideration, to leave them to their more 

 exact province of plumage descriptions, sequence of molts, osteology, and in general, 

 all those matters which pertain to the bird. Our province is the egg, and we ought 

 in all fairness to our oological compeers to pursue our own hobby at our own charges. 

 We do not offer this present number of the Journal as the ideal journal proposed. 



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