118 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXIV. 



whilst the British and the Continental forms may 

 be distinct, the difference is only subspecific and 

 hence the insular bird should stand as Passer 

 domesticus hostilis. As undoubtedly our birds are 

 descendents of English stock the same name applies 

 to them. Thus though it does not seem that "Prus- 

 sian Sparrow" can ever be substituted for "English 

 Sparrow" in this country we really accomplish the 

 same and by a sort of reflex action the opposite of 

 the intention of the original describer, in calling it 



hostilis, the enemy. r-. t- 



P. A. Taverner. 



Lantern slides for educational purposes. 

 For some time the Biological Division of the Geo- 

 logical Survey of Canada has maintained a collec- 

 tion of lantern slides for free educational use. This 

 collection covers about three hundred slides of va- 

 rious natural history subjects. They are mostly 

 from original photographs taken by officers of the 

 Survey though some have been kindly donated by 

 other photographic naturalists. Most of them are 

 unusually well colored and of great photographic 

 as well as zoological interest. The series is still 

 far from complete but it is being added to as rapid- 

 ly as possible and already it is possible to illustrate 

 a great number of subjects by its means. Birds are 

 principally represented but mammals, amphibians 

 and reptiles are also included in the series. 



Collections of these slides are loaned freely to 

 any responsible person or institution to be used for 

 educational purposes and not for personal profit. 

 The only conditions attached to their use are, that 

 they be returned promptly with a report on the oc- 

 casion of their use and that the borrower pays ex- 

 press charges, if any, and makes good losses not due 

 to ordinary wear and tear. 



It is regretted that distance makes it impossible 

 to extend this service west in the prairie provinces, 

 or to the Pacific coast at present, but plans are now 

 being considered for having duplicate sets distribu- 

 ted from the branch offices of the Survey in E,d- 

 monton and Vancouver. 



Any one desiring to use these slides should make 

 written request to the Biological Division of the 

 Geological Survey, Ottawa, stating his official po- 

 sition, if any, the subject of the lecture it is proposed 

 to illustrate, the society, institution or audience to 

 be addressed, or under whose auspices the gather- 

 ing is to be held, the number and kind of slides de- 

 sired and the date. The application should be 

 made well in advance so that conflict of dates can 

 be adjusted. The slides should be returned prompt- 

 ly that others who may be waiting for them and 

 have dates already set may not be disappointed. 



P. A. Taverner, 

 Ornithologist, Geological Survey, Ottawa, OnL 



Bird Migration. In the May, 1919 number 

 of The Canadian Field-Naturalist there is an 

 article on the above subject by Mr. H. Mousley 

 containing statements which can hardly be allowed 

 to pass unchallenged. 



Mr. Mousley rejects as "one of the fairy tales 

 of science" the theory that birds during migration 

 find their way by the sense of sight. He states 

 that "in pure nature there is no such thing as 

 self-consciousness, or the power of reasoning," yet 

 he admits that these faculties are found in man. 

 If man is not a part of "pure nature" then we are 

 forced to the conclusion that he must be regarded 

 as super-natural, a conclusion with which I think 

 few scientific men will agree. Further this state- 

 ment is not in accord with carefully conducted ob- 

 servations and experiments on the higher animals. 

 Mr. Mousley goes on to say that some of the 

 higher animals, such as dogs, horses, etc., from 

 long and intimate association with man, no doubt 

 at times display traces of it, that is, of self- 

 consciousness or reason. This statement again is 

 contrary to all the data furnished by the study of 

 animal psychology, since no entirely new type 

 of mental process, such as reason, can possibly be 

 evolved by association with man, and all that man 

 can do in the training of animals is to make use 

 of, and develop more fully, faculties already pos- 

 sessed by the animals in question. 



Mr. Mousley continues: "All wild birds and 

 animals, however, I believe, are subconscious, and 

 therein lies the secret of their making no mistakes." 

 The onus of proof that wild animals "make no 

 mistakes" is upon Mr. Mousley. If this were true 

 it would be most fortunate for them, but I fancy 

 any close observer of wild life can recall cases in 

 which wild animals have made mistakes, mistakes 

 which in many instances have cost them their lives. 



The next statement is: "To understand this more 

 fully one must be prepared to accept the fact that 

 telepathy (now recognized by science) pervades 

 and is general throughout the entire animal king- 

 dom. It is a potential faculty (working on an 

 astral plane unknown to us at present) which inter- 

 connects subconscious mind, and permits silent 

 intercourse to be established." I would venture 

 to suggest that telepathy is far from being recog- 

 nized by the majority of scientific men, that the 

 idea of "astral planes" is r egarded by most 

 biologists as a phantasy, and that there is abso- 

 lutely no proof that any mind can communicate 

 with any other mind, save through the medium of 

 the senses of hearing, sight, touch or smell. 



But Mr. Mousley goes even further than relying 

 on telepathy to acount for the directing of migra- 



