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Jan., 1012 EDITORIAL NOTES AND NEWS 43 THE CONDOR A ?fagazine of Western Ornithology Published Bi-Monthly by the Cooper Omltholo?ic?l Club J. GRINNELL, Editor. Berkeley, C?llfomh HARRY S. SWARTH, Associate Editor J. EUGENE LAW W. LEE CHAMBEKS Business M?neBers Hollywood, California: Published Jan. 31, 1912 SUBSCRIPTION RATES One Dollar end Fifty Cents per Year in the United States, Canada, Mexico and U.S. Colonies, payable in advance Thirty Cents the single copy. One Dollar end Seventy*five Cents per Year in all other countries in the International Postal Union. Claims for missing or imperfect numbers should be made within thirty days of date of issue. Subscriptlor?s and Exchenges should be sent to the Business Manager. Mu?nuscrjpts for publication. and Books and Pu?pers for review, should be sent to the Editor. Advertising Retes on application. EDITORIAL NOTES AND NEWS In this issue is printed the new Constitu- tion of the Cooper Ornithological Club. This is in the form finally adopted by the Southern Division, Sept. 28, 1911, and by the Northern Division, November 18, 1911. It is admittedly regrettable that this nutnber of our magazine is so far behind its no?mal date of publication. But the pres- ent editors have always acted on the prin- ciple that care in make-up is far more es- sential than fixed date of appearance. An unfortunate accident in the printing office has made the hazard in this particular case one requiring unusual precautions. On November 6, 1911, the appointment of Mr. F. S. Daggett as Director of the Museum of History, Science and Art, at Los Angeles, was confirmed by the Board of Governors. The building is finished, and Mr. Daggett is now pushing as rapidly as possible the preparation and installation of the material for exhibition. Compre- hensive plans have been made regarding the development of all three branches of the Museum, but readers of T?tE Corn)oR will be more particularly interested in the details of the zoological department. The large collection of fossils amassed by the Soilthern California Academy of Sci- ence at the Rancho La Brea is all to be in the building, and restorations 'of most of the mammals and many of the birds will be made, forming an exhibition probably unique. The material includes more or less complete skeletons of elephant, mastodon, giant ground sloth, bison, llama, camel, saber-toothed tiger, lion, wolf, condor, eagle, etc. The activities of the museum will be first directed largely along exhibi- tional lines, always with the view of having the exhibits as educational as possible. In building up a zoological collection it will be confined principally to west coast forms, in fact mostly to Southern California and the contiguous country to the south. Hab- itat groups of native mammals and birds will be installed as rapidly as the material can be collected and prepared. Mr. Daggett's personal collections will be deposited in the Museum, amounting t.o 8000 birds, 3000 species of Coleoptera, and thirty-six large drawers of butterflies, as well as his ornithological library, compris- ing some 1800 volumes and about as many pamphlets. Other loan collections, and some gifts are promised, including a library of about 2000 volumes owned by the Academy of Sciences, and an extensive her- ?arium to be installed by Dr. A. Davidson. ?' The Museum's Board of Governors in- cludes one member from the Southern Di- vision of the Cooper Club, Mr. Howard Robertson. The Club should know that the successful inauguration of this Museum is in a great measure due to his energy and industry, and must accord Mr. Robert- son credit for all time as one of the guid- ing spirits who made possible the founding of the institution. With two Cooper Club members so actively interested in the Museum, Mr. Daggett as its executive head, and Mr. Robertson as Secretary of the Board of Governors, we can f?eel as- sured as to its future development and ex- pansion. The Club has also cause for con- gratulation in the fact that this new institu- tion, bound to develop into one of great importance and usefulness, is in a measure a direct outgrowth of the activities of the Cooper Club. PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED MILLER ON lq'OSSIL BIRDs.--California is the richest state in the union in point of living species represented within its borders, barring possibly Texas. It now seems that an added distinction is accruing, namely, that in number of fossil forms brought to light, this state has assumed foremost position. The Department of Paleontology of the University of California has come into possession of a large amount of material from the now famous Rancho la Brea asphalt deposits near Los Angeles; and pre- viously extensive and .fruitful searches-had been conducted in certain cave deposits in the northern portion of the state. Upon the arian rbmains contained in the material from these two sources Loye Holmes Miller has prosecuted diligent research. It is our privilege to refer to two more papers from his pen announcing various new discoveries. (See CONDOR XIII, 1911, p. 79) .