218 Bird- Lore gage trust bond paying four per cent. The New York Audit Company certified to the absolute correctness of the treasurer's report, which was accepted and ordered printed. The president gave a brief account of the work accomplished during 1906, and out- lined the program for 1907, which bids fair to be very active in the several channels of effort. The report of the Association, together with reports from the State Audubon Societies, is published in this issue of Bird- Lore, and a large edition will be printed separately for general distribution. Mem- bers can secure copies on application to the office, 141 Broadway, New York. The following directors were elected to serve for a term of five years: Frank Bond, of Wyoming; T. Gilbert Pearson, of North Carolina; Mrs. Elizabeth B. Davenport, of Vermont; Dr. Joel A. Allen, of New York, and Dr. David Starr Jordon, of Cal- ifornia. The report of the sub - committee, ap- pointed by the president, by resolution of the Board of Directors passed at a special meeting held September 7, 1906, to complete the negotiations relative to a settlement of the residuary interest of the Association under the will of the late Albert Willcox, was accepted, and their action in effecting a settlement for the sum of $231,072 was ratified and confirmed. The president presented a seal, which was accepted and made the seal of the Society. At the close of the business session, Mr. W. L. Finley gave an illustrated talk on some life histories of several species of wes- tern birds, which was followed by observa- tions, illustrated, on some of the common birds about New York, by Mr. F. M. Chapman. At four p. m. a meeting of the directors was held, when the following officers were elected to serve for one year: President, William Dutcher; first vice-president, John E. Thayer; second vice-president, Dr. Theodore S. Palmer; secretary, T. Gilbert Pearson; treasurer, Frank M. Chapman. Mr. Samuel T. Carter, Jr., was reappointed counsel of the Society. The president appointed the following standing committees: Executive — Dr. Her- mon C. Bumpus, Dr. Joel A. Allen, Dr. George Bird Grinnell. Finance — John E. Thayer, Abbott H. Thayer, Mrs. C. Grant LaFarge. The president and treasurer are members of both these committees. Since the annual meeting the Society has received a second instalment of its interest in the residuary estate of the late Mr. Willcox, amounting to $50,000, nearly all of which has been invested in a first mortgage, at 5 per cent interest, on a fine property on West One Hundred and Fifty-sixth street, New York. By a singular and happy coincidence this property is located close by the home, Audubon Park, and also the burial place, Trinity Cemetery, of John James Audubon. — W. D. Notes and News Breton Island Reservation. — The re- cent hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico de- stroyed every sign that the Association had erected on this reservation, as well as those on Audubon Reservation, the property of the Louisiana Audubon Society. This was not an unmixed evil, for the storm and the accompanying high tides swept into the gulf the raccoons which infested Breton Island, and which were a serious menace to the birds and their eggs. Nature has her own methods of preserving a balance of wild life, which man disturbs when he indulges in excessive killing. — W. D. Penguins. — It has been reported that ships are leaving New Zealand ports to kill Pen- guins for their oil and feathers (down). These interesting birds are thus threatened with extermination, as such non-flying spe- cies are helpless when attacked by man. Plume Sales.* — "At the August sale at the Commercial Salerooms (London, Eng- land) there was a decline in the supply of Osprey feathers, and a still greater decline in the demand, mainly on account of the absence of American trade. The quantity offered was 4,296 ounces, against 5,443 ounces at the June sale; prices were lower.
- Reprinted from 'Bird Notes and News-' .Vol. II
No. ?, 19,06. Organ of the Royal Society for the Pro- tection of jBirds, London, England."
