Mar., 1916 THE NEW MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE OOLOG of migration, distribution, or behavior characters, these are just as much a part of our task as the collecting of birds' eggs. A quotation from our articles of incorporation will, I trust, make this point clear, and should justify our endeavor in the eyes of those who might otherwise be inclined to look askance: "And we hereby certify . . . That the purposes for which it is formed are: To further the cause of ornithological science by the erection and maintainance* of a repository for natural objects, to wit, birds and their nests and eggs, and all other objects, whether natural or artificial, pertaining to or illustrating the life of birds or necessary to such illustration, and by the malntainance of a museum staff whose busi- ness it shall be to take care of the collections and to disseminate among men th'e knowl- edge of birds, their nests, and eggs; and in pursuance of this object, to . . acquire objects of natural history, as bird skins, eggs, and nests; . to conduct expedi- tions of exploration or scientific quest; to subsidize scientific research; to publish reports, proceedings, bulletins, or journals of ornithological science; to equip and main- tain a librars, a lecture hall or halls, work rooms, educational classes, lecture bureaus, exhibition rooms, photographic and moving picture exhibits, and in general to do any and all things and conduct any business in any way conducive to the dissemination of the knowledge of birds, their nests and eggs, or necessary to the realization of the. pur- pose aforementioned--the whole to be conducted for the advantage, benefit, and usufruct of the public, as from time to time determined by the Board of Trustees of said cor- poration, hereinafter provided for." The key note of the new institution is co/?peration. Since it is for the "pub- lie", it must of necessity be supported by the public. But the word "public" here has a varying significance. The contributing public and the benefitted public are not necessarily the same. Only the Santa Barbara public, and of those the well-to-do, are being asked to give the institution financial support. On the other hand, the outside public, the scientific public, will be invited to con- tribute as liberally as may be to the stocking of the Museum. For, speaking as a resident of Santa Barbara, it has been our .very first thought to provide for the scientific world an institution unique of its kind, which might reasonably hope one day to stand pre-eminent in its chosen field. The pleasure and conve- nience of o/flogical specialists will, therefore, be our first aim. Those who are conducting investigations in a serious spirit will be afforded every facility at our command for comparison and research. A second thought has been to provide for Santa Barbara's annually increas- ing guests an instructive form of entertainment. 'How imperative this claim upon our hospitality really is, perhaps the writer knows better than most; for his doors, although at some remove from the city, and not convenient of access, have been thronged with bird-lovers from every clime and in ever increasing numbers. Indeed, it is largely because of the tax upon his modest quarters and the far too appreciative reception of his modest offerings, that this larger vision came. Those who have expressed regret that such a movement should not have been launched in a larger city, little know Santa Barbara or the weight of her responsibilities. And of co'urse our City expects to reap direct benefits from its new Museum through its educational features. The modern method of education is the labor- atory method, and a museum is a concentrated laboratory of nature. While it cannot supplant nature, it will be no longer necessary for boys to rob birds' nests in order to satisfy their natural craving for knowledge in this realm. A cen- tralized, socialized, and highly efficient repository of bird- and egg-material will satisfy this demand, and stimulate a dozen other wholesome interests that group themselves aro'und it. Instead of having three hundred boys at one time collect-
- A legal term of earlier origin and supposedly "stronger" significance than maintenance.
