D 



ecember, 



1918] 



The Ottawa Naturalist 



117 



located in Iowa, but originally dwelt along the west 

 shore of Lake Michigan. That the Ojibwa, who 

 occupy territory between the Cree and the Fox, 

 should originally have lacked this character in their 

 mythology is somewhat surprising, but is corrobor- 

 ated by the linguistic evidence, which mdicates that 

 the Fox language is more closely related to the 

 Cree than is the geographically less remote Ojibwa. 

 The English term was evidently derived from 

 some Algonkian tribe, in all likelihood an Algonquin 

 or Saulteaux band, among whom the identification 

 of the culture-hero with the Canada jay was 

 current. 



The meaning of the term Wisagatchak seems to be 

 doubtful. In his "Dictionnaire de la Langue des 

 Cris,"J Father A. Lacombe does not attempt to 

 give any etymology for Wisakketjak, but merely de- 

 fines the term as 'legendary man of the various 

 tribes of the North, to whom they attribute super- 

 natural power with a great number of tricks, turns, 



and follies. He is regarded as the pnncipal genius 

 and as the founder of these peoples." What has 

 happened, then, in brief, is that an Indian term of 

 obscure meaning, employed to refer to an important 

 mythological being, was, in a limited area, identified 

 with the Canada jay and that this term was then 

 borrowed by the whites as the common name of the 

 jay and finally refashioned into a make-believe 

 English word. 



Curiously analogous is the history of the French 

 word renard "fox". This word is not of native 

 Romance stock but is merely a French application 

 of the favorite mediaeval trickster Reynard, identified 

 in folk-lore with the fox. The term itself is of 

 Germanic origin and appears in many different 

 forms. Among them are the modern German name 

 Reinhart, and the Dutch and Flemish Reinecke or 

 Reinke. 



E. Sapir. 



BOOK NOTICES. 



Lessons on Weeds. Manitoba Farmers' Lib- 

 rary, Extension Bulletin No. 30. Thirty "Exten- 

 sion Bulletins" have already been issued by the 

 Manitoba Department of Agriculture under the 

 general title of 'The Manitoba Farmers' Library" 

 which is devoted to the extension of information on 

 agricultural and sanitary matters and is distributed 

 free among the people of Manitoba. These bulletins 

 cover a wide field and several of them are of special 

 interest and value to field-naturalists, notably No. 23, 

 "Our Friends the Birds," No. 25, "Gophers and 

 Squirrels in Manitoba," and No. 30, the most re- 

 cently published, "Lessons on Weeds," a pamphlet 

 of 50 pages and many illustrations. All three of 

 the bulletins mentioned above were prepared for use 

 in the schools of Manitoba but are distributed free 

 to farmers as well. Some fifty species of weeds are 

 described and figured, the descriptions including in 

 most instances notes on the mode of reproduction and 

 very full instructions on the best methods of eradica- 

 tion. Seven poisonous plants are described, includ- 

 ing the poison ivy, and it is worthy to note that the 

 only method of eradication mention is to put on 

 gloves and pull up the long woody perennial roots 

 which creep for yards underneath the leaves." Per- 

 haps the sentences of most value in No. 30 are 

 these : 



"Weeds waste water. " 



"A big weed takes a barrel of water out of the 



"1 " 

 sou. 



One has only to realize this and note the rank 

 growth of weeds which so frequently overrun gar- 

 dens to understand why in dry seasons so many 

 amateurs are disappointed in their garden crops. A 

 crop of weeds means a barrel of water per square 

 yard, or 8'/2 inches of rainfall. Other provinces 

 might well follow the example of Manitoba in the 

 publication of such bulletins as "Lessons on Weeds" 

 for use in the public schools. 



^Montreal, 1874. 



The Hawks of the Canadian Prairie Pro- 

 vinces IN Their Relation to Agriculture. By 

 P. A. Taverner. Museum Bulletin No. 28, Dept. 

 of Mines, Canada, August, 1918. The work before 

 us is one that has long been needed and comes at a 

 time when its authority may prove an important 

 factor in the preservation from extinction of some of 

 our most useful birds. To the reviewer, who has 

 spent much time and labor in an endeavor to show 

 the absurdity of the indiscriminate slaughter of our 

 prairie hawks, this publication is extremely welcome. 



As Mr. Taverner points out, we have few really 

 injurious hawks inhabiting the Prairie Provinces 

 and of these but one, the Goshawk, is of sufficient 

 size, or occurs in sufficient numbers, to be of 

 marked importance in reducing our game supply. 

 This hawk breeds but rarely in the southern portions 

 of Western Canada, but when the food supply is 

 scarce in the north invades our territory in consid- 

 erable numbers during autumn and winter time. 



