192 
THE CONDOR 
I Vol. Ill 
THE CONDOR. 
Bulletin of the 
Cool’KR Ornithological Club 
OF CALIFORNIA. 
Published bi-iuonthly at Santa Clara, Cal., in the intere.sts 
and as Official Organ of the Club. 
CHESTER B.A.RLO\V, - - Santa Clara, Cal.. 
Editor and Business Manager. 
W.-VLTER K. FISHER, Stanford University Cal. 
HO\V.\Rl) ROBERTSON, Box 55, Sla. .A., Eos .\ngeles. 
.Associates. 
Subscription, (in advance) - - One Dollar a Year. 
Single Copies, 25 Cents. 
Six Copies or more of one issue, - I 2)4 Cents Each. 
Foreign. Subscription, $1.25. 
Free to Honorary Members and to .Active Members not 
in arrears for dues. 
.Advertising rates will be sent on application. 
■Advertisements and subscriptions shotild be sent to the 
Business Managers. 
Exchanges should be sent to the Ivditor-in-Chief. 
Eintered at tlie Santa Clara Post-office as .second class 
matter. 
This issue of The Condor was mailed Nov. 16. 
editorial 
Retrospective With the ))resciit miniber 
and The Condor closes its third 
Prospective volume, with which circum- 
stance is couiiected a variety of reflections, in- 
teresting at least to those who have had the 
welfare of the magazine at heart. We believe 
that we violate no breach of projiriety when we 
take the ornithological fraternity into our con- 
fidence, and discuss with them the future po- 
licy of the magazine. 
The Condor was projected by the Cooper 
Ornithological Club and its memhers three 
years ago, and its contents have since been 
made up largely from the w ritings of these in- 
dividuals. Vet we feel that the magazine has 
not been in a narrow sense merely the bulletin 
of a Club, hut rather the representative bird 
magazine which it.s editors have endeavored to 
make it. We have long since perceived that 
its scope of work and influence were not 
bounded by the limits of its home state, and 
many of the magazine’s eastern supporters 
have commended its course in excluding other 
than strictly western material. 
It has been the intention to treat all current 
ornithological happenings, eastern as well as 
western, and to participate in any and all dis- 
cussions which might be of interest to the 
fraternity. The large body’ of western ornitho- 
logists in and out of the Cooper Ornithological 
Club form a very considerable jiercentage of 
the working force of American ornithologists, 
and we believe our eastern friends value The 
Condor as a medium devoted to the jiresenta- 
tion of western work. 
If may he a satisfaction to the friends of The 
Condor to learn that, owing to the present 
large membership of the Cooper Ornithologi- 
cal Club, the magazine is self-supporting from 
the income so received, exclusive of all outside 
receipts. Its permanence therefore is estab- 
lished two-fold, and it is hoped that the fourth 
volume may mark the production of a maga- 
zine better in many respects than has been the 
volume just completed. 
To those who have not known The Condor 
intimately, we would ask a perusal of the 200 
pages of text constituting Volume III. To its 
old friends w'e would merely mention a few 
contemplated improvements for the coming 
volume. It is projrosed to use permanently 
loo-lh. coated paper which will lend an im- 
proved typographical effect and also improve 
the illustrations, while an artistic new coyer 
will help in making The Condor attractive 
outwardly. 
With the closing of Volume III the artist 
lays aside his peculiarly innocent camera which 
has produced sundry “snapshots at prominent 
ornithologists’’ during the year. While most 
ornithologists are seriously earnest in their 
work and sometimes give the impression that 
jocoseness is foreign to tlieir make-up, we be- 
lieve that none can have objected seriously to 
the series of cartoons, good-natured in their 
intent, anil that the feature as a whole has 
been favorably received. Eurther comment 
on the passing of Volume III seems unneces- 
sary, other than to extend thanks for the gen- 
erous patronage afforded, and to all friends 
who have assisted in the betterment of the 
magazine. 
The new constitution of the Club which is 
now in effect, prescribes that the annual dues 
of $2, shall accompany each application for 
membership and it will be well for memhers to 
observe this requirement in soliciting new 
memhers. This clause was considered well by 
both divisions of the Club and subsequently 
adopted. It is intended as a guarantee of good 
faith on the part of the memher-elect, and 
does away with efforts to collect dues subse- 
quent to election. Too often through the ab- 
sence of new members from home, uninten- 
tional neglect and other causes, the business of- 
fice is forced to assume the duties of a collec- 
tion agency in securing the first year’s dues. 
This is radically wrong; each member should 
spare the ofiicers of the Club any unwarranted 
demands upon iheir time, for the rapid in- 
crease in volume of the business affairs of the 
Club leaves absolutely no time to devote to 
work which is and should be unnecessary. For 
these and other reasons it has been deemed 
proper that the first year’s dues accompany 
each ajiplication for active membership. 
Members should act accordingly and may se- 
cure the proper form of application for mem- 
bershij) from the business manager. 
We coininend to Club members the remarks 
of Mr. John J. Williams on another jiage with 
reference to individual work. Were each 
member to analyze the purposes of the Club 
and feel the responsibility of individual dut}- 
as has Mr. Williams, the Club would at once 
greatly increase its scope of usefulness. 
