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■ i'ou cannot with a scalpel Jind the poet's soul, Nor yet the wild bird's song." Edited by Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright (President of the Audubon Society of the State of Connecticut), Fairfield, Conn., to whom all communications relating to the work of the Audubon and other Bird Protective Societies should be addressed. Reports, etc., designed for this depart- ment should be sent at least one month prior to the date of publication. DIRECTORY OF STATE AUDUBON SOCIETIES With names and addresses of their Secretaries. New Hampshire Mrs. F. W. Batchelder, Manchester. Massachusetts Miss HARKiEr E. Richards, care Boston Society of Natural History, Boston. Rhode Island Mrs. H. T. Grant, Jr., 1S7 Bowen street. Providence. Connecticut Mrs. William Brown Glover, Fairfield. New York Miss Emma H. Lockwood, 243 West Seventy-fifth street, New York City. New Jersey Miss Anna Haviland, 53 Sandford Ave., Plainfield, N.J. Pennsylvania Mrs. Edward Robins, 114 South Twenty-first street, Philadelphia. District of Columbia Mrs. John Dewhurst Patten, 3033 P street, Washington. Wheeling, W. Va. (branch of Pa. Society) Elizabeth I. Cummins, i3i4Chapline street. Wheeling. Ohio Miss Clara Russell, 903 Paradrome street, Cincinnati. Indiana Amos W. Butler, State House, Indianapolis. Illinois Miss Mary Drummond, Wheaton. Icwa Miss Nellie S. Board, Keokuk. Wisconsin Mrs. George W. Peckham, 646 Marshall street, Milwaukee. Minnesota Mrs. J. P. Elmer, 314 West Third street, St. Paul. Tennessee Mrs. C. C. Conner, Ripley. Texas Miss Cecils Sei.xas, 2008 Thirty-ninth street, Galveston. California Mrs. George S. Gav, Redlands. The Law and the Bird During the past ten months Bird-Lore has printed interesting statistics concern- ing the organization of the various State Audubon Societies, as well as significant reports of the progress of their work. So far so good. There are, of course, slight differences in the platforms of these societies regarding by-laws, meth- ods, fees versus no fees, etc. Upon one point, however, they all agree — that while they deplore the use of the feathers of wild birds in millinery, the great point is the education of children to have the proper regard for bird life. It is, however, necessary to go a step behind even this. A priori the bird must be given a legal status before it can be protected with any general suc- cess, even by those most willing so to do. In appealing to the average child of the public school, it should be remembered of how many races this average child is compounded, — races with instincts con- cerning what are called the lower ani- mals, quite beyond the moral com- (203) prehension of the animal-loving Anglo- Saxon. To make this average school child respect the rights of the bird, the bird must be given a legal status to com- mand, and not to beg respect. This child may be appealed to in other ways and may readily assent to all that you say, zvhile your personal influejice is zuith him, but he goes away and forgets ; he does not feel the weight of a merely moral penalty. Game birds have this legal status, in a greater or less degree, in all states, with perhaps the single exception of Missis- sippi, and sportsmen are always on the alert for infringement of the game laws. It would seem to me wise for Audu- bonites to turn more attention to the legal status of the class of birds that they specially seek to protect. Legislation in this respect is, of course, difficult to obtain, because many sportsmen are afraid of weakening the game laws by stirring up discussion re- garding song birds, etc.; but much more can be made of the existing laws. That