Nov., 1910 
EDITORIAL NOTES AND NEWS 
205 
THE CONDOR 
An Illustrated Magazine 
of Western Ornitholog'y 
Publish! Bi-Monthly by the Cooper Ornithologi 
cal Club of California 
JOSEPH GR1NNELL. Editor, Berkeley, Cad. 
J. EVGENE LAW, Business Manager, Hollywood, Cal. 
W. LEE CHAMBERS, Business Manager, Santa 
Monica, Cal. 
HARRY S. SWARTH 
ROBERT B. ROCKWELL 
Associate Editors 
Hollywood, California: Publisht Nov. 29, 1910 
SUBSCRIPTION RATES 
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Thirty Cents the single copy. 
One Dollar and Seventy-five Cents per Year in all other 
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Claims for missing or imperfect numbers should be 
made within thirty days of date of issue 
Subscriptions and Exchanges should be sent to the 
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Manuscripts for publication, and Books and Papers 
for review should be sent to the Editor 
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EDITORIAL NOTES AND NEWS 
Don’t neglect to vote on that simplified spel- 
ling proposition (see The Condor, September, 
1910, page 176.) The returns to date show very- 
close results, so that a few more votes one way 
or the other will decide the matter. If you 
don’t want to see simplified spelling in our 
magazine, say so. While the Editor himself, 
favors the use of it, he will not bear a personal 
grudge against anyone for differing from him. 
lie fears that some are withholding an expres- 
sion of opinion in the belief that the Editor will 
actively resent an adverse decision. II e hopes 
that he deserves a higher rating than this. Re- 
member that the vote must be concluded De- 
cember 10; for the January issue has to be made 
up immediately following that date. 
We urge the attention of Condor readers 
to the Business Manager’s announcement on 
the inside back cover of this issue. Nothing is 
more certain than the absolute dependence of a 
successful enterprize like The Condor upon 
the concentrated efforts of a very few persons 
in addition to the moral and practical support 
of a large number of others. Both are essential 
to the maintenance of our magazine on a high 
level of usefulness. Chambers and Law are 
men of affairs, with multitudinous private busi- 
ness interests; yet they are giving freely of the 
time necessary to secure the financial support 
of The Condor. Let us all help them. Keep 
in mind the purposes of the Cooper Club: 
For the observation and co-operative study of Birds, 
because of the resulting plesure; 
For the spred of interest in Bird Study, so that this 
plesure may be shared by others; 
For the publication of Ornithological Knowledge, ns 
being a contribution to Science. 
William Leon Dawson, author of The Birds 
of Ohio and (with Mr. Bowles) The Birds of 
Washington , and secretary of our sister organ- 
ization, the Caurinus Club, is now in San Fran- 
cisco. Mr. Dawson is planning to spend the 
next few weeks in this vicinity where he will 
be at home to all Cooper Club members at the 
Exeter Hotel, 154 Ellis Street. He will spend 
the holidays at Santa Barbara with his former 
associate, Mr. J. IT. Bowles, and the remainder 
of the winter will be past in the neighborhood 
of Los Angeles. 
Mr. W. W. Grant of New York City has de- 
vized a very convenient loose-leaf note-book for 
the use of beginning bird students. It is of 
pocket size and the leaves are of two sorts, 
ruled and headed with various captions. An 
outline drawing of a bird is shown, and a list of 
colors, numbered, is given, the intention being 
that the student can record in a few minutes 
the coloration of a bird by putting the color 
numbers on the drawing of the bird on his note 
page. Space is also indicated for various other 
features of the specimen observed, together 
with the conditions of observation. 
The records obtained by this system require 
the least possible length of time in securing 
them, ami at the same time secure the accuracy 
accompanying immediate inscription. Mr. 
Grant has arranged that the National Associa- 
tion of Audubon Societies will sell this book at 
cost, so that it will become available to amateur 
observers of birds everywhere. The idea is 
clearly of value and should result in much ben- 
efit to the cause. 
Messrs. Witherby & Co., of London, an- 
nounce an important work on Australian Birds 
which they are about to issue. A very large sum 
of money is being expended upon the prepara- 
tion of tliis work, and every care is being exer- 
cized to produce results as perfect as possible in 
every direction and tlioroly up to date. 
PU B LI CATION S REVI EWE1 ) 
Distribution and Migration of North 
American Shorebirds, by Wells W. Cooke 
(— U. S. Dept. Agriculture, Biological Survey, 
Bulletin No. 35, pp. 1 to 100, 4 pis. ; issued 
October 6, 1910) . 
Professor Cooke and his co-workers of the 
Biological Survey have here brought together 
practically all the main facts known in regard 
to the subject exprest in the title. The eco- 
nomic importance of a compendium of this 
kind becomes apparent when one takes into 
account that increasingly large numbers of 
these valuable game birds are being killed an- 
nually, that unless mesures are taken to pro- 
tect them, most of the larger species are likely 
to become extinct, and further that a knowl- 
edge of the summer and winter abodes of the 
several species and of the routes they take in 
migration is essential to effective legislation in 
their behalf. 
