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George H. Mackay, of Massachusetts, de» serves special mention. inasmuch as, single» handed, he has been the means of securing the adoption of laws the influence of which reaches tar beyond tlte borders of his own
state. Among them is the section relating
to shore and marsh birds (Limicolre);
which reads as follows: "Whoever buys, sells. exposes tor sale or has in possession any of the birds named in and protected by sections five or seven of this chapter, during the time within which the taking or killing rhereot is prohibited, whenever or wherever the aforesaid birds may have been taken or killed, shall be punished by a fine often dollars for each bird."
That this beneficent law has been the means of saving the lives oi thousands of shore~birds during the spring migration of 1904. is proved by the tollowing: Dr. L. B. Bishop states: "Capt. E. z. Gould, the chief market hunter of shore-birds in Date county, N. C., writes me that the new Massachusetts law preventing the sale of spring-shot shore-birds has made him give up shooting this spring. In addition to his own gun. he had tour men shooting for him in the spring of rooz." Mr. Mackay writes: “ You can add to the Gould episode from North Carolina another from New Jersey. W. E. Hornet 85 Co., of West Creek, large shippers of spring birds, wrote to a firm of game dealers in Boston asking how many birds the firm could handle this spring. The reply was that they could not handle any, owing to the new law, Undoubt— edly this law aflected many other pot- tions of the country; market hunters will not kill birds that they cannot sell or dispose at. The sportsmen of the country certainly owe to Mr. Mackay a debt of gratitude for this admirable legislation, which will do much to perpetuate the fast-disappearing shorea and marsh»birds.
A short tour of inspection along the Vir- ginia coast was taken bythe Chairman early in July, the details ot which will be given in the annual report of the Committee; for the present it is only necessary to state that the most determined anti watchful guardian- ship will he necessary tor a long period to prevent the gradltal but sure disappearance
Bird-Lore
of the marsh- and beach-breeding birds of that section.
Mr. William Alanson Bryan. Curator of Birds of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of Honolulu, H. 1., has been in the States torsome months on professional work. While he was in New York City a conference was held with the Chairman, with the result that Mr. Bryan will return to his home thoroughly enthused with the idea of estab- lishing a Hawaiian Audubon Society. which will.not only undertake to protect the birds of the Island of Oahu, but of all the islands oi the Hawaiian group. and in addition such of the other Oceanic Islands as are under the jurisdiction of the United States. To that end he will prepare a detailed statement of the conditions which obtain at the several islands, with the needsfor protec- tion and with suggestions as to means to prevent the extinction of certain island forms of birds which have already become exceed- ingly rare. His report will be addressed to the Chief Executive of the United States, President Roosevelt. trusting that his great interest for bird preservation will cause him to direct the report into the proper channels for governmental aid. In this connection it is suggested that the British and German Societies for the Protection of Birds ask their respective Governments to give protec- tion to the birds indigenous to the .Polyne- sian Islands severally belonging to them. Mr. Bryan states that there is a japanesc corporation which is now actively engaged in collecting sea-birds’ plumage for the Berlin, Paris and London feather markets.
Rev. W. R. Lord. of Massachusetts, on the invitation of a number of bird-lovers in Washington, visited in June that tar-oil northwestern state. During the month he was there he delivered many lectures and gave bird talks to a large number of teachers. scholars and the general public, with the that great interest in bird pro- tection was aroused. Mr. Lord writes that undoubtedly a little later in the season an Audubon Society will be iormally launched in Washington. On his way home Mr. Lord stopped at Detroit, Michigan. and gave an illustrated bird talk in that city under the auspices of the Michigan Audubon Society.
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