76 
THE CONDOR 
| Vol. VIII 
THE CONDOI> 
An Illustrated Magazine of Western 
Ornithology 
Published Bi-monthly by the Cooper Ornithologi- 
cal Club of California 
JOSEPH GR.INNELL, Editor, Pasadena 
H. T. CLIFTON, Business Manager, 
Box 404, Pasadena 
WILLIAM L. FINLEY, ROB’T E. SNODGRASS, 
Associate Editors 
Pasadena, California: Published May 20, 1906 
SUBSCRIPTION RATES 
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Subscriptions should be sent to the Business Manager; 
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EDITORIALS 
As a result of the San Francisco fire, follow- 
ing the earthquake of April 18, the California 
Academy of Sciences building with its contents 
was totally destroyed. This constitutes a tre- 
mendous loss to ornithology, for here was lo- 
cated the largest study collection of birds west 
of the great museums of the Atlantic cities. 
This collection, numbering in the neighbor- 
hood of 25,000 specimens, was unique in its ex- 
tensive series of superbly prepared skins of 
sea-birds. The accumulation and study of 
these had long been the devoted aim of the 
Director of the Academy, Leverett M. Loomis. 
Another most deplorable feature of the disaster 
was the destruction of the valuable library, 
the ornithological portion of which contained 
many rare and expensive sets, such as complete 
files of the Ibis and Journal fuer Ornithologie . 
At the present writing (May 1) we have been 
unable to learn whether or not anything at all 
was saved. There is now practically no library 
on the Pacific coast suitable for extended re- 
search reference in ornithology. However, the 
Academy’s endowment remains, together with 
the insurance on the burned buildings, so that 
we may confidently look for the institution to 
gradually regain its scientific importance. 
As far as we now know (May 2) the Mail- 
liard collections are safe, having been housed in 
San Francisco luckily just outside the limits 
reached by the fire. H. W. Carriger, however, 
lost nearly all his bird library; and M. S. Ray 
lost practically everything. Other Cooper CIuId 
members residing in San Francisco are yet to 
be heard from. Across the Bay, where the 
shock was less violent, and where fire did not 
add its destructiveness, little or no damage is 
reported. The collections of Taylor, Emerson 
and Cohen proved practically uninjured. While 
the buildings at Stanford University suffered 
severely, the natural history collections and 
libraries are quite safe. Nace’s printing shop 
in Santa Clara was partially wrecked, but its 
efficiency has been completely restored as at- 
tested to by the present issue of The Condor. 
Mr. Ruthven Deane informs us that to his 
knowledge there were but two copies of Audu- 
bon’s “Birds of America,” folio edition, west 
of the Missouri. These were in the Mechanics 
Library and Mark Hopkins Art Institute, San 
Francisco, and both were probably burned 
along with the horde of other rarities which 
can never be replaced. 
Under date of April 21, Milton S. Ray writes 
us from San Francisco: “I am unable to ac- 
count for the presence of various birds about 
the districts which escaped burning unless they 
are released cage-birds. This they probably 
are, as many are canaries. In the midst of the 
ruins in the Mission section a grove of cypress 
trees remained unscathed and notwithstanding 
the intense heat and sickening smoke, the 
English sparrows were carrying nesting mate- 
rial into the trees and working as assiduously 
as ever.” 
Attention is called to the fact that the Club- 
at-large is once more provided with a secretary. 
As elsewhere reported, the March Northern 
Division meeting duly elected to the Secretary- 
ship Mr. Hubert O. Jenkins, of Stanford Uni- 
versity. All communications intended for 
either the Northern Division or the Club-at- 
large should hereafter be addressed to him. 
One (to us) very serious disadvantage of this 
combining and dividing of States is the con- 
fusion it makes in locating the published rec- 
ord-stations of birds. We hereby register our 
vote in favor of retaining the separate identity 
of Arizona and New Mexico! 
Prof. F. E. L- Beal of the Department of 
Agriculture is in California again, for the pur- 
pose of continuing his study of the food of our 
birds. His headquarters will be at Haywards, 
and most of his work will be carried on in the 
orchards about the southern end of San Fran- 
cisco Bay. 
Mr. Frank S. Daggett in a recent letter to a 
Southern Division member remarked that there 
are now enough C. O. C. members in and close 
about Chicago to form another Division. This 
may not have been offered as a serious propo- 
sition; but nevertheless it strikes us as worthy 
of further consideration. It will be remem- 
bered that our Constitution was once amended 
so as to make it possible to form Chapters of 
the Club anywhere five or more members could 
meet together for bird-study. This seems to 
us quite apropos in the case of Chicago. We 
should be glad to see Mr. Daggett carry out his 
suggestion which could hardly help leading to 
successful results. The nucleus would consist 
of Deane, Daggett, Coale, Swarth, Woodruff, 
Gault, Knickerbocker and Price. There should 
be no dearth of interest with such an initial 
membership! 
Altho it might seem a bit out of place in a 
purely ornithological magazine to venture 
