ORNAMENTAL PLUMES 171 



came manifest in the two States which had adopted 

 it. Long Island, instead of remaining a general 

 slaughter-house for sea-birds, resolved itself into 

 a gigantic bird reservation. Although in past 

 years gulls and terns had been virtually extir- 

 pated from its coasts, they began once more to 

 appear in great numbers. In Masisachusetts the 

 report of the milliner's gun was no longer heard. 

 The song-birds lived in peace. They throve and 

 multiplied. 



But there was one great weakness to the new 

 State laws. They did not prohibit the importa- 

 tion of feathers secured abroad or within the bor- 

 ders of other States. Thus, despite the advanced 

 code of her own State, New York City still was 

 the leading center of the plumage traffic in Amer- 

 ica ! In the late nineties the feather trade reached 

 its high level in that city. It was being fed from 

 the rookeries of Florida, Virginia, and the Caro- 

 linas, and, unless those States prohibited the 

 slaughter and export of their birds, nothing more 

 could be done about it. 



In response to calls for help from the A. O. U. 

 and the Department of Agriculture, bird protec- 

 tive associations, known as Audubon Societies, 

 were organized throughout the country. Under 

 the direction of their founder, William Dutcher, 

 the National Association of Audubon Societies 

 fought a stubborn battle with the common enemy, 

 the feather dealers. The latter, under the guise 



