Editorial. 29 



fluences of civilization, larger civilization, upon the birds, are 

 immeasurable. If we could scatter such sectional bird censuses 

 over the country at large, their contribution to the economic 

 questions involved in the relation of birds to all human interests 

 would be immense. Perhaps not many of us feel capable of mak- 

 ing such a census. It is a great undertaking, and fraught with 

 many difficulties which do not appear at first sight. But there 

 is one thing which every person can do, wherever he may study 

 the living birds, and that is to keep a record of the numbers of 

 individuals of each species seen every time the birds are studied. 

 Even this will not be possible with some species at some times 

 of year, but with many species it is entirely possible at any time. 

 Those which are so numerous that an accurate count is impossi- 

 ble, do not need such careful attention. 



This is the field which we can occupy, and for which we are 

 organized. Not only will your own note-books be far richer, but 

 they will make possible comparisons with the work of others in 

 other regions, and form a basis for estimates of your actual bird 

 population. Before you refuse to accept the force of this argu- 

 ment, sit down and think just what you mean when you say that 

 a certain species is common, or abundant, or rare. If you are sat- 

 isfied with that sort of information, this request is not directed 

 at you, but if you feel that these terms can be given some defi- 

 nite meaning by work such as we have suggested, we shall be glad 

 to welcome you to the ranks of those who will do this sort of 

 work. Surely we can agree that the work is of great importance, 

 and so do what we can to make our note-books mean something 

 definite. 



ELECTION OF OFFICERS. 



Eighteen (18) ballots were cast for officers of the Chapter, for 

 1902, resulting in the following selections, viz. : 



President — Lynds Jones, Oberlin, Ohio. 



Vice President — N. Hollister, Delavan, Wis. 



Secretary— John W. Daniel, Jr., 3146 Q street., N. W. Washing- 

 ton, D. C. 



Treasurer — F. L. Burns, Berwyn, Pa. 



Executive Committee— John H. Sage, R. M. Strong, H. C. Ober- 



Benj. T. Gault, Judge of Election. 

 I find the above statement correct. R. M. Strong, President. 



