Mar., 1913 EDITORIAL NOTES AND NEWS 95 -,THE CONDOI A blagazine of Western Ornithology Published Bi-Monthly by the Cooper Ornitholo#ical Club J. GRINNELL. Editor, Berkeley, Cedifornlal HARRY S. SWARTH, AaaoeiLte Editor J. EUGENE LAW ? W* LEE CHAMBE?_S j Businert M?nsfers] Hellmood, 'California: Published March 25, 1913 SUBSCI?IPTION RATES One Dollsr snd Fifty Cent8 per Yesr in the United States, Canada, Mexico and U.S. Colonies, payable inedvance ThiFiy Cer?ta the single copy. One Dollar and Seventy-five Cer?ta per Year in all other countries in the International Postal Union. Claims for missing or imperfect numbers should be made within thirty days of date of issue. Subaeriptloaa and ExekanSea should be sent to the Business Manager. M?,.nuaeripta for public?tion. and Books and P?,.pera for review, should be sent to the t?ditor. Adve?ialn8 Rates on application. EDITORIAL NOTES AND NEWS The Business Manager's report of the Cooper Club's financial standing at the close of the year 1912 is a model commercial docu- ment. The itemized statements of receipts 3red expenditures are accompanied by a full inventory of Club property. While lack of space prevents giving the 7-page report in full, the following summary shows the main points as .regards money transactions: Balance in bank, January 2, 1912 .... $ 333.35 Dues received during 1912 ........... 691.22 Subscriptions during 1912 ........... 167.20 Sale of Avifaunas .................. 24.50 Sale of back numbers of CONDOR ..... 121.60 Donations, etc ...................... 3.00 Advertising ........................ 43.45 Total Receipts .................. $1384.32 Cos? of printing Co?,moR ............ 760.98 Cost of illustrations ................. 167.50 Club expenses ....................... 43.96 Miscellaneous expenditures, chiefly connected with Co,?oR .......... 168.49 Cost of store-room ................. 61.85 Total Expenses .................. }1202.78 Balance in 'bank January2, 1913 ...... $ 181.54 Cash on hand, not deposited ......... ' 31.59 Total available cash ................. 213.13 Outstanding 1912 bills payable ...... 191.35 Net Balance ..................... $ 21.78 The financing of Avifaunas 7 and' $ is ac- counted for separately. Their cost ($5(?0.(?0) was raised by donation. Mr. Harry s. Swarth, for nearly five years Curator of Birds in the Califorrd/t Museum of Vertebrate - Zoology, transferred his affilia- tion on February first to the new Museum of Historyt Science and Art, in Los Angeles. The change is accompanied by considerab!e increase in responsibility as well as in remu- neration. While we see in this advancement a well deserved recognition of Mr. Swarth's efficiency there is one element that seems to us regrettable, namely, that the prospects point towards his time being henceforth so fully occupied with executive rout{he that ornith- ology will receive correspondingly less atten- tion from his judicious and accurate pen. In the great majority of cases nowadays, when'a young man reaches an advanced de- gree of proficiency in bird-study, the ability thus developed makes him desirable in some executive berth, and the matter of salary con- cludes the argument. At present, 'there ap- pear to be practically no purely research posi- tions in ornithology, offering anywhere near an adequate livelihood, available to the talented and ambitious young student anywhere in America. Very nearly all the published orm- thology turned out is a bi-product of busy men's activities, which are by necessity cen- tered elsewhere. The following excerpts from a recent circu- lar letter sent out from the Smithsonian In- stitution show progress in Mr. A. C. Bent's undertaking to carry on the life history pro- ject so ably begun by Bendire. In 1910 arrangements were made with the Smithsonian Institution for the completion of the work on the life histories o.f North Ameri- can birds, which was originally projected by Major Charles E. Bendire, ahd of which the Institution published two volumes. For over twenty years Mr. Bent has devoted his spare time to visiting various points of ornithologi- cal interest in North America for the purpose 'of collecting the information, photogr. aphs and specimens necessary for an extensive work on the breeding habits of North American birds. Major Bendire's first volume began with the Gallinae, A. O. U. number 289, and his second volume ended with the Icteridae, A. O. U. number 513, including 223 species in the two volumes. Considering the fact that comparatively little is known about many of the water-birds and that many of the ocean wanderers and stragglers need little more than passing mention as American birds, it seems safe to count on covering all of the first part of the A. O. U. check-list, up to the point at which he began, in two volumes. The present plan, which is subject to revision, is to have the first of the new volumes in- clude the Anatidae at least as far as the geese; but as the life histories of many of the Tubinares will be decidedly brief, it may be well to include all of the Anatidae in this first volume. The work of gathering information, materda! and contributions for the life histories has been partially organized on a very satisfactory
