National Conservation Association. 
No people were ever so recklessly wasteful of 
their natural resources as those inhabiting the 
United States. They gave away the nation’s 
lands in all directions, they cut down and burned 
the forests to get them out of the way and thus 
exposed the earth to floods which in many places 
have reduced the soil’s fertility, either by remov¬ 
ing it—washing it away into the streams—or by 
covering it in times of flood with the sand and 
gravel carried down by the streams. The valu¬ 
able minerals beneath the ground have been given 
for a trifle to whomsoever might wish them, 
streams deprived of forest protection at their 
head have dried up, or—polluted by sewage and 
waste from factories—have become unfit for use 
by man or beast or fish. To remedy this state 
of things, which is becoming progressively worse 
with an increasing population, the National Con¬ 
servation Association has been organized. This 
association has its headquarters at Washington 
and is under the executive charge of Gifford 
Pinchot, a man well known all over our land— 
and as well beloved as known. Mr. Pinchot as 
president of the National Conservation Associa¬ 
tion has issued a statement from which we are 
glad to quote some paragraphs. The subject is 
one which must interest every good citizen, and 
as stated in another column it interests sports¬ 
men above all. This statement says: 
“Our natural resources must be conserved. 
The American people are agreed on that. Our 
waters, forests, lands and minerals are the foun¬ 
dations of our prosperity, and as such they 
should be developed and used wisely in the in¬ 
terest of all the people to-day and for the wel¬ 
fare of those who come after us. The question 
now is to decide in whose interest our natural 
resources are to be conserved. 
“The movement for the prompt and orderly 
development of our natural resources has now 
reached a stage where there is urgent need for 
a united effort by all patriotic citizens. The 
National Conservation Association * * * offers 
to every patriotic citizen an immediate oppor¬ 
tunity to unite with the other men and women 
who stand for its principles. It will give close 
attention to the progress of conservation and it 
will tell its members and the people the plain 
truth about measures intended to promote con¬ 
servation and about measures framed to oppose 
it. I believe no other one organization has a 
larger opportunity for service to the nation or 
greater possibilities for effective work. 
“In order to do its work the association needs 
a nation-wide membership of patriotic men and 
women. Therefore, I call on every friend of 
conservation to join in the organized effort it 
is making for the use and development of the 
country’s natural resources in the interest of all 
the people and for equality of opportunity for 
all the people. 
“The association is in the midst of a great 
fight and it needs your support. Will you give 
it your help?’’ 
The National Conservation Association is 
carrying on a campaign of education. It wishes 
to have the resources of the land protected and 
preserved for the benefit of all Americans; to 
prevent special interests from seizing certain valu¬ 
able properties or privileges which they may 
use with little or no regard for the future wel¬ 
fare of the country and its people. It is the 
duty of each friend of conservation to write to 
the National Conservation Association in Wash¬ 
ington, get its literature, and if this appeals to 
him to join that body. The great work that is 
here to be done can be performed only by an 
organized body, and we believe that that body 
is the National Conservation Association of 
Washington under Gifford Pinchot. 
Birds in Connecticut. 
Packerville, Conn., April 22. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: Spring in all her glory and beauty 
has been with us for nearly two months, un¬ 
usually early and very dry for the season. Forest 
and meadow fires were frequent during the first 
half of April, thousands of acres being burned 
over and doubtless much game perished in the 
flames. One fire fighter told me he saw several 
young rabbits huddled together, not knowing 
which way to .go. He threw water on them and 
they seemed to be grateful. I found young 
squirrels at the foot of a pine tree, evidently 
roasted out of their nest when the flames swept 
the foliage from the branches. I fear some of 
the ruffed grouse had begun nesting, but hope 
they were few. Quail are safe, I am certain, 
for I had not heard their love song until yes¬ 
terday morning, a full week after the latest 
fire, and it was wonderful with what unanimity 
they began their lovemaking at about 4 o’clock, 
every male quail in the neighborhood apparently 
whistling his merry “bobwhite” for nearly an 
hour; in fact, there seemed to be far more of 
the brave little fellows than I had supposed 
were near here. A most welcome rain put an 
end to the fires about a week ago, we hope for 
many months. 
I heard yesterday morning for the first time 
this year the melodious song of the brown 
thrasher, and this morning it was a veritable 
serenade or concert by a full sextette. I greatly 
enjoy the robin’s song when he first deigns to 
sing each spring, but like rhubarb pie it soon 
cloys and becomes monotonously discordant 
when a dozen vie with each other in awaking 
and keeping me awake soon after three in the 
morning. Oh, how I wish he would leave the 
singing to the sweeter singers when they arrive. 
The first bluebird was seen on March 2, but 
I had heard the plaintive notes of one flying 
overhead a day or two earlier. Robins were 
first noticed soon after noon of the 4th, and be¬ 
fore night were here by hundreds, eating with 
gusto the sumac berries so unappetizing lust fall. 
They were here three weeks in great abundance 
before I heard one of them offer a song; then 
it became contagious. Blackbirds made their 
first appearance on the 5th, singing as they came. 
I saw the first swallow on April 9 and have not 
seen another, but a friend told me he saw them 
plentifully flying over a pond three miles south 
on April 1. I wonder why they do not come 
three miles further north. 
I saw a turkey buzzard a few days ago, the 
first one since living in this State, nearly three 
years. I wonder if they knew to go where the 
fires have killed birds and animals for them? 
The catbirds and whippoorwills are yet to 
come, as are the wrens and martins. The whip¬ 
poorwill is another bird whose song is delightful 
when first he sings, but monotonous when he sits 
under your open window at a time when you 
wish to sleep and repeats “Whip-poor-will” hun¬ 
dreds of times at a stretch. I have counted up 
to 560 times and feel certain one near my win¬ 
dow last summer said, “Whip-poor-will” at least 
a thousand times on more than one occasion 
without stopping to take a good breath. 
E. P. Robinson. 
A Query. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
When the mice in the fable wanted to bell the 
cat they evidently believed that their security 
would be warranted, and now Miss Maud Ball- 
ington Booth has taken a lesson from the mice, 
and applying it to the birds believes that cats 
with bells would catch no birds. But were not 
the mice mistaken in their theory, and is Miss 
Booth not laboring under a somewhat similar 
misapprehension ? 
A number of years ago I had a Maltese 
Thomas cat, rendered neuter early in his career 
of usefulness and infamy. Contrary to what I 
had expected from reading and some little per¬ 
sonal experience, Thomas turned out very valu¬ 
able in ridding the premises of mice and rats, 
but he would frequently change his diet by cap¬ 
turing a fat robin or other bird, although he 
never offered to molest canaries or other birds 
confined in cages. One day a domestic in our 
employ, having grown very fond of Thomas, 
undertook to ornament him with a ribbon and 
a small bell. I suggested that this would inter¬ 
fere with the usefulness of Thomas as a mouser 
and was surprised to be informed that the bell 
would make no difference at all. I was still 
more surprised when I found that this informa¬ 
tion was correct, for Thomas continued his 
career of destroyer of rodents and birds until 
old age summoned him to the great unknown for 
cats. 
Was Thomas an erratic specimen of felinity or 
were the mice in the fable and Miss Booth mis¬ 
taken ? C. A. S. 
International Bird Protection. 
At the annual meeting of the Royal Society 
for the protection of birds, held in the West¬ 
minster Palace Hotel on March 9, Montagu 
Sharpe, chairman of the council, reported that 
the society had hoped to induce the British Gov¬ 
ernment to call an international congress to con¬ 
sider the plume trade, but that the hope had 
been abandoned. 
