in the rarest instances, and these we are as quick to admonish as are any of our 

 critics, the activities of the supporters of this institution have been sincerely de- 

 dicated to the cause of conservation, to the conscientious upbuilding and main- 

 tenance of the infinite variety of nature's abundance. 



A LOCAL MISAPPREHENSION 



There still exists in the public mind a considerable prejudice against 

 oological collecting. That this prejudice found some justification in the old day, 

 when every schoolboy had a sawdust box and a boundless ambition to rob birds' 

 nests, there can be no denying. There is no denying either that some collectors 

 of birds' eggs have exhibited a wanton disregard not only of the requirements of 

 conservation, but of the decent opinions of their fellow men. Selfishness is as 

 offensive in this field as in any other, and ruthlessness has no right to masquerade 

 under the mantle of Science. Our sincere aim must be to serve Science, not to 

 exploit her, and in this service we must respect such sentiment as is in strict 

 accordance with facts. 



With so much by way of concession, it remains glaringly true that criticism 

 of oological science per se is founded on ignorance and is fed by sentimentality 

 and prejudice. So conceived and so fostered it is exposed to grave danger of 

 exaggeration and misstatement in its attempt to discredit science. Such a 

 criticism was recently levelled at the M. C. 0. by the correspondent of a local 

 paper. It was a beautiful effort, and the editor takes pleasure in quoting liber- 

 ally from its poetical passages; and then adds a few comments of his own. 



Said our critic: "The professional collector makes his harvest in the 

 nesting season and he not only slays the bird for the sake of its skin, but he takes 

 its eggs, preventing not alone multiplication of the species, but its perpetuation. 

 He makes it his business to know where the shy, rare birds have their habitat, 

 and their manner of nesting, that he may the more surely track them to their 

 homes and possess himself of their homes as well as destroy their progeny. No 

 last year's nest ravaged by wind and storm will satisfy this fastidious and intelli- 

 gent robber. He wants and he collects the dainty structures when they are 

 freshly built and unsoiled, and no rain has fallen upon them to mar their beauty." 

 [Very prettily said, and quite true — this last sentence. The M. C. 0. bows its 

 acknowledgements] . 



"The professional collector as a rule has little regard for the perpetuation 

 of any bird species, no matter how rare or beautiful it may be, or of what service 

 to mankind. He increases his collection by a system of exchange with men of his 

 kind the world over. The rarer and more beautiful or more interesting his bird- 

 victims, the more important it is to him to collect as many eggs as he can for his 

 capital in trade and to sell for cold cash — and sometimes a pretty sum they bring 

 — to other collectors. If by chance they become extinct, the value of what he 

 has is enhanced. He knows the market quotations on bird-eggs as a dealer in 

 farm products knows the market quotations on the eggs of common poultry, 

 and often claims prestige for certain features of his collection by quoting these 

 values. 



"I low much Santa Barbara has suffered through depredations of this sort 

 can only be guessed, but thinking persons may form some estimate from their 

 own observations. To cite one instance alone: 



"Twelve years ago the beautiful gardens of Santa Barbara were alive with 

 hummingbirds, the daintiest, the most marvelously plumaged, the most exquisite 

 of all the great bird family on warm days. They flitted from blossom to blossom, 

 they swarmed in pairs, and it often seemed in (locks, rising from fountains or to 

 sip at dripping hydrants. They perched on swaying branches and chorused their 

 funny, unmelodious buzzing songs. They were like rainbows flashing colors 

 through the garden air everywhere. Poems were written on them. No descrip- 

 tion of the town was complete that did not mention them. Santa Barbara and 



