WORK OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 177 



of its president, Mr. William Dutcher, who since 

 1910 has been unable on account of sickness to take 

 any active part in the work of the Association. Since 

 that time the chief executive officer has been the 

 secretary, Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson. Under his ener- 

 getic management the Association has made remark- 

 able growth, and many new lines of activity have 

 been developed. 



The following are the classes of membership in the 

 Association : — 



$5 annually pays a sustaining membership. 



$100 paid at one time constitutes a life member- 

 ship. 



$1000 constitutes a person a patron. 



$5000 constitutes a person a founder. 



$25,000 constitutes a person a benefactor. 



In 1915, there were 2558 sustaining members, 

 244 life members, 3 patrons, 1 founder, and 1 bene- 

 factor (deceased) . The fees of the life members are 

 added to the endowment fund. The total disburse- 

 ments for the year 1915 were $93,000. The funds 

 to meet these expenses are derived chiefly from three 

 sources, the returns from the endowment fund, 

 which now amounts to about $400,000, the dues 

 of the sustaining members, and special contribu- 

 tions. 



In the work for bird-protection many agencies 

 have been active, but the National Association of 

 Audubon Societies has been the prime mover which 



