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 Mar., 1909 EDITORIAL NOTES 71 THE CONDOP An- Illutrated llagazlne of Western Ornithology Publisht Bi-Monthly hy the Cooper OrnitholQ$1- cal Club of California. JOSEPH GRINNELL, Editor. - Berkeley. Cu.I. J. EUGENE LAW. Business M, ringer. Hollywood, Cal. W? LEE CHAMBEiS. Assistu. nt Business Managers Santu. Monlcu., Cal. WILLIAM L. FINLEY ,. ROBERT B. ROCKWELL  ,ssocm. te Editors Hollywood, California: Publisht Mar. 20, 1909 SUDSC;Ikll'TION RATES One Dollar and Fifty Cents per Year in the United States, Mexico, and U. S. Colonies, payable in advance. Thirty Cents the single copy. One Dollar and Seventy*five Cents per Ymar 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. Subscriptions and ExchAnges should be sent to the Business Manager. M.nuscripts for publication, and Books and P.pers for review should be sent to the Editor. Advertising Rates on application. EDITORIAL NOTES By Executive Order No. 1019, dated Febru- ary 3, 1909, the "Hawaiian Islands Reserva- tion" was establisht. This national bird pre- serve includes Laysan, Necker, and adjacent small islands, upon which great numbers of pelagic birds nest, such as Albatrosses, Shear- waters, and Terns. Persistent rumors have circulated in the newspapers of late, to the effect that Japanese were planning to land on the rookeries to destroy every bird obtainable, the feathers to be saved for various commercial purposes and the bodies to be made into fer- tilizer. The fact that not a few species, which are confined in the breeding season to these small islands would thus be exterminated, makes the establishment of this preserve with little doubt the most important step, from a strictly ornithological standpoint, in the his- tory of bird preservation in this country. The annihilation of species was threatened. For the good work in securing the necessary steps in the accomplishment of this highly commendable act, ornithologists have to thank Dr. T. S. Palmer, of the Bureau of Biological Survey, and Mr. Frank Bond, Chief Clerk of the General Land Office. It is needless to say that the laws of the United States will be enforced, as gun-boats patrol the Hawaiian waters continually. It is hoped that, before the next number of this magazine is issued, subscribers will receive their copies of the Ten-year Index. Its com- piler, Mr. H. B. Kaeding, is at work on the revised proofs. However, Mr. W. O. Emerson, who has charge of the financing, states that only about $100.00 has been raised, whereas the total cost of the Index will be in the neighborhood of $200.00. This lack of finan- cial support will be .the cause of any possible delay. Such casualty sitould not occur. One of the nost enjoyable events in the his- tory of the Cooper Club was the Annual Dinner held at the Bismarck Caf in San Francisco on the evening of January 16, 1909. There were twenty-four members present, occupying com- fortably the single long table in the Fish Room. Toward the close of the banquet the toastmaster, Dr. W. K. Fisher, announced that this occasion might be fairly considered as a send-off for Mr. Ed. mnnd Heller who was about to leave to join the Roosevelt African Expedi- tion. Mr. Heller was introduced and gave an insight into the conditions under which the collector has to work in the "Dark Continent," he having already experienced them as a mem- ber of an expedition sent there in 1905 by the Field Museum. President D'Evelyn was then called upon and spoke humorously of the vari- ous activities of the Club. State Game Warden Vogelsang gave a most entertaining account of his experiences in carrying on the work of the California Fish Coinmission. Prof. W. E. Rit- ter commented further upon the good work accomplisht by Mr. Vogelsang, and closed the evening's program by discussing the desira- bility of the establishment of a public zoologi- cal park on this coast something like that in New York City. PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED CAMPS AND CRUISES ] OF AN [ ORNITHoLO- GIST [ By [ FRANK M. CAPMAN ] Curator [etc., 5 lines]. [ With 250 Photographs from Nature I by the Author[ [vignette] ]New York] D. Appleton and Company I 1908. 8vo, pp. i-xvi, 1-432. (Cloth, $3.00 net.) Mr. Chapman's latest book is a record of ad- venture; it presents, too, a great amount of biographical ornithology. The combination results in a volume of extreme interest to the ordinary reader and the ornithologist alike. The photographic illustrations about which much of the narrative centers are of the highest order; they are each one illustrative of some habit or special feature in the habitat of the subject. The matter incorporated into the "Camps and Cruises" was secured by the author dur- ing his expeditions after material for the splendid bird groups executed during the past seven years at the American Museum of Nat- nral History. The opportunities thus affordad are here shown to have been utilized to the very best advantage. As usual with Mr. Chapman's work the camera played a large part in his field studies. In the "Introduction" we are given new hints as to methods to be employed in securing in- timate photographic acquaintance with wary