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 May, 9oo[ THE CONDOR 61 ologists' Union. On Dec. 6, 899, the organization of the society was accom- plished and the following officers elect- ed: Prof. Lawrence Bruner, President; I. S. Trostler, Vice-President; Dr. R. H. Wolcott, Recording Secretary and W. D. Hunter, Corresponding Secretary. The Proceedinffs of the Union consist of a complete report of the first annual meeting and embraces forty-four pages in which are found the constitution and by-laws of the Union and nine papers of value read before the neeting. The whole is neatly printed on heavy book paper and forms a report that would do credit to a much older organization. It is to be hoped that this association of Nebraskan ornithologists will do much to increase our knowledge of the avi- fauna of the region, and judging from the excellent commencement, this bids fair to be carried out to an unexpected degree. ANO'rUER notable Californian egg collection has recently passed out of the state, it being in this instance the col!ection of Mr. Henry Ward Carriger, formerly of Sonoma, Cal. It has fol- lowed the pathway of several other western cabinets and Miss Jean Bell of Ridley Park, Penn., becomes the fortun- ate possessor, thus adding one more complete collection to her already mag- nificent museum. Mr. Carriger's collec- tion contained many choice individual sets as well as valuable series, all per- sonally taken by him in the vicinity of his former home. One set deserving of epecial mention was x-6 California Pygmy Owl (Glaucd/nm gwoma nicum) taken near Sonoma. Mr. Carri- ger's ability and success in the field was manifest throughont the choice col- lection. Tar: .4k fi)r April records the death of one active and three associate mem- bers of the A. O. U., who were well known to many workers on the coast. George B. Sennett, an active member, died March x8 at the age of 59 years. Francis C. Browne of Framingham, Mass., passed away in January at the age of 70, while John A. Dakin of Syra- cuse, N.Y. and Foster H. Brackett of Boston each died after a brief illness. Mr. Brackett was very favorably known to many Californian workers through his cordial correspondence and finely- prepared bird skins, many of whlch grace Californian cabinets. He had in process, previous to his death, an ex- tended list of the birds observed about Boston, which, it is to be hoped, will be secured and published. ON behalf of the American Ornithol- ogists' Union, Mr. Abbott H. Thayer has addressed to the public, through the press, an appeal for funds to pro- tect from slaughter the gulls and terns of the Atlantic Coast. He recounts their valuable work as scavengers in the harbors, and states that already their ranks have been decimated by the plume hunter. Those who are willing to contribute to a fund for the protec- tion f the gulls ad terns are requested to address Win. Dutcher, Treasurer, 525 Manhattan Ave., New York City. MR. H. B. TORRE, V, a member of the Cooper Club, who has been studying at the Columbia University in New York, has been appointed a Fellow in the De- partment of Zoology in recognition of his ability. Mr. Torrey's home is at Berkeley, Cal. AT the meeting of the California Academy of Sciences held in San Fran- cisco April 6, Mr. Joseph Grinnell gave a general talk on "Birds of the Arctic in Midwinter." UNDF. R the editorship of Mr. Regin- ald Heber Howe Jr., of Longwood, Brookline, Mass., has appeared a neat four to six page publication entitled otes on Rhode Island Ornilholo. ffy, de- voted, as its title implies, to notes on, and records of Rhode Island birds. The publication is a neat one and full of val- uable data judging from the January and April numbers at hand. The paper will be published as a quarterly.