Page:Condor21(6).djvu/26

240 THE CONDOR Vol. XXI fins, two Horned Puffins, two California Murres and one Cormorant. These birds were scat- tered in the drift wood and had evidently been killed by oil. One Horned P6ffin brought back is now skeleton no. 30714 in the California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. On May 17, 1919, Mrs. Hocking obtained a Horned Puffin at Coast Ways, near Pescadero, which is now specimen no. 30713 in the Museum.--HAROLD C. BRYANT, Berkeley, California, June 26, 1919. EDITORIAL NOTES AND NEWS Criticism has come to the Editor of THE CO?'DOS either directly or, more often, through indirect channels relative to the kinds of articles being published. Such crit- icism is various, to the effect that our mag- azine should publish proportionately more local lists, or fewer local lists; more reviews or no reviews at all; more life history ac- counts; etc., etc. Here is .one determining factor, taking into consideration the volume for 1919, which concludes with this issue: We have put out just as many pages (252) as the money available pays for, this being determined by very close calculation on the part of our Business Managers. Now, as furnishing data to govern the Editor in the' future, he hereby requests such o? our read- ers as are sincerely concerned for the well- fare of THE CONDOR tO look over volume XXI critically and to write to him frankly as follows: What class of articles appeared to you as most worth publishing? What class of contributions--reviews, minutes, com- munications, lists, autobiographies--might have been left out altogether, their place being taken by other, more worthy, matter? What were the best kinds of illustrations, and what others might well have been omit- ted? The status of the annual roster was settled by vote of the Club early in the pres- ent year--and favorably to the continuance of that feature. Now the Editor invites views in regard to the further policy of Ti?r? CONDOS as outlined above. We cannot pub- lish any greater amount of material with the limited funds in hand; but we can change the kincl of matter printed to some degree, although limited always by the kind and amount furnished by our contributors. What are your ideas? As regards the splitting of genera, in other words, the determination of the limits of any genus, we would call the attention of our readers to the article in the October (1919) Auk, by Mr. Ned Hollister, entitled "The systematic position of the Ring-necked Duck". Mr. Hollister's conclusions in regard to the constitution of the Genus Marila.are certainly based on a sound and clearly set forth line of reasoning. It will be remem- bered that it has been recently proposed to set off the Canvasback in one genus, the Redhead in another, and the Scaups in a third! Hollister's careful study of the facts, and of the other considerations involved, shows that Marila as it now stands should be "left without any 'subdivision. at all"--with which conclusion we heartily concur. The current tendency in some quarters to- ward the suppression of the private collector seems to have gone to great lengths in Min- nesota. In Dr. T. S. 'Roberts' useful and at- tractive handbook entitled "A review of the ornithology of Minnesota" (May, 1919) we find a statement in the "Addendum" to the effect that permits to collect birds, nests and eggs for scientific purposes are in that state to be issued only to public institutions that maintain zoological collections. Dr. Roberts points out that this attitude is directly op- posite to that taken by the Federal govern- ment and that the effect will be directly to- ward discouraging interest in ornithology and will eventually lead to a dearth of trained ornithologists. We entirely agree with the stand which he takes. Mr. George Willerr has established himself and family for the winter at Craig, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. He has arranged to devote practically his entire time to ornith- ology, and since he is, as far as we know, the first active bird student to winter in southeastern Alaska we may expect valua- ble results in the way of new facts concern- ing the seasonal behavior of the birds there. Practically nothing is now known, for in- stance, in regard to the route of migration of many of the birds which summer in west- ern Alaska and which winter in California. Whether or not they follow the coast line closely, traversing the outer of the coastal islands, or whether they pursue an off-shore route more or less distant from the land, re- mains to be proved. Mr. Willett's findings will doubtless bear importantly upon this problem. , The Thirty-seventh Stated Meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union was held in New York City, November 11 to 14. Fellows elected were Alexander Wetmore and Joseph H. Riley; Henry W. Henshaw became a Re- tired Fellow. The only Western Fellow in attendance was Harry S. Swarth, represent- ing the California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Four months of biological field work has been carried forward in the State of Wash-