It may not be generally known to the readers of BIRD-LORE that, immediately following the passage of the Tariff Act in Washington, on October 3, 1913, which prohibited the importation of feathers to this country, the Canadian Parliament, largely through the efforts of Dr. C. Gordon Hewitt, passed a somewhat similar measure. The Canadian law prohibits the importation of:
"Aigrettes, Egret plumes, or so-called Osprey plumes, and the feathers, quills, heads, wings, tails, skins, or parts of skins, of wild birds, either raw or manufactured; but this provision shall not come into effect until January 1, 1915, and shall not apply to the feathers or plumes of Ostriches; the plumage of the English Pheasant and the Indian Peacock; the plumage of wild birds ordinarily used as articles of diet; the plumage of birds imported alive, nor to specimens imported under regulations of the Minister of Customs for any natural-history or other museum, or for educational purposes."
Allan Brooks, the artist, many of whose colored pictures of birds have appeared in BIRD-LORE, is with the English Army "somewhere in France." In the summer of 1915 he wrote the office that he would not be able to do further work for the Association for some time, as he was going to Europe to study. Almost immediately after his arrival in England war broke out. He at once returned to Canada and enlisted in a company at his home in British Columbia. He has been promoted from the rank of Lieutenant to that of Captain. Last December, when Captain Brooks had attained the distinction of the longest continuous trench service of any officer of the Canadian army, he was offered a more restful position behind the lines, but he declined it.
In a letter received by one of his friends a short time ago he stated that he had thus far escaped injury with the exception of deafness in one ear, as a result of a shell-explosion; and that, if he survived the war, he would return to America and hoped to paint better pictures than before.
A lady writes from a village in northern New York of the evil of loose dogs in rural communities; and of her care for winter-birds:
"On Sunday morning, January 23, two dogs chased a deer (a young doe), that strayed down from the mountains, and attacked it most viciously until it sank exhausted and wounded on the grounds of the summer home of the church of the Heavenly Rest, of which my husband is gardener and caretaker. He and my son rescued the deer from the dogs, and a neighbor notified the supervisor, who gave permission for its removal to a barn, awaiting the arrival of the game warden. My three children are members of the Audubon Society, and are greatly interested in all wild things. They are heart-broken about the deer, and we try to protect everything wild that comes our way. We have many wild birds around our house, which we coaxed around by putting little houses in the branches of nearby trees, and putting crumbs and scraps in them. We also fixed some branches of hemlock on the windowsill of our dining-room, on which my husband ties pieces of suet, doughnut, bones, and pieces of a pudding I make especially for them, of suet, currants, raisins, bread-crumbs, and scraps of meat; and oh, how they enjoy it!"--MRS. JOHN W. PAYNE.