E AGASSIZ ASS< )CIATION 



427 



identify any small nests that may be 

 mailed him; when accompanied by 

 reasonably full data, and by postage for 

 reply. Moreover, any inquiries will 

 be most cheerfully answered. 



Bird photographers will find au- 

 tumn, winter and spring a golden pe- 

 riod for the photographing of nests 

 in situ. A back-ground of neutral tint 

 or of black or brown should be used, 

 where feasible; care being taken to 

 set it well back from the nest. AYhere 

 the nest and its surroundings are later- 

 ally deep, the lens should be well- 

 stopped down ; and under no circum- 

 stances should photographs be taken 

 in sunlight (wdiere avoidable), nor 

 should snap-shots be considered of 

 even potential value. The above sug- 

 gestions cover the more glaring com- 

 mon faults. In this domain, also, any 

 possible help or suggestion is heartily 

 at the service of any members of the 

 Agassiz Association. The two-cent 

 stamp is the sesame: and it will always 

 be adequate. 



STUDYING DKAG01N FLIES. 



REPORT OF* CHAPTER 1 1 AU.oWKl.i, A. 

 NO. 535. 



The work has been in a great meas- 

 ure the collection and study of dragon 

 Hies. During the season of 1908 over 

 forty species were seen or captured, 

 bringing the number of known species 

 from this locality up to a little over 

 seventy now in all. 



The exceptionally dry weather gave 

 destructive insects great opportunities 

 for injuring fruit and forest trees. 

 Many beech trees were entirely 

 stripped of leaves by caterpillars and 

 some trees commenced to bear leaves 

 again in the fall. 1 await with interest 

 to see what effect this will have on 

 the trees another season. 



There were no rare birds seen dur- 

 ing the season. 



Mattie Wadsworth, Prksident. 

 R. F. D„ 



Hallowed, Maine. 



ITE 



AND 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



With The Trees. By Maud Going. New 

 York: The Baker & Taylor Company. 

 This book contains chapters, — "When the 

 Sap Stirs," "Keeping Tryst with Spring," 

 "The Life of the Leaves," "In a Hillside 

 Pasture," "The King of the Trees," and 

 "Seed Time and Sowing," and others of 

 interest. It is popularly written, and is a 

 pleasing accompaniment to any of the more 

 pretentious or systematic books pertaining 

 to trees. 



Plant-Breeding. Comments on the Experi- 

 ments of Xilsson and Burbank. By 

 Hugo de Vries, Professor of Botany in 

 the University of Amsterdam. Chicago, 

 Illinois: The Open Court Publishing 

 Company. 

 This book is designed to show the agree- 

 ment between the author's theories of 

 mutation and the work of Luther Burbank 

 and other eminent horticulturists (especial- 

 ly Nilsson, the Swedish horticulturist) in 

 actual practice. It is therefore a basis for 

 further development of practical breeding 

 as well as of the doctrine of evolution. 



The book contains one hundred and four- 

 teen illustrations. It is of general interest. 



Plant Physiology. By William F. Ganong„ 

 Ph. D., New York: Henry Holt and 

 Company. 



Everybody likes to make experiments, es- 

 pecially on living things. That is why the 

 boy catches flies and pulls off one leg, two 

 lgs, three legs, and so on; he wants to see 

 what the fly will do under the new condi- 

 tions. So he pulls off a wing, or clips both 

 wings, to see what the fly can do with only 

 one wing, or with two half wings. He is- 

 generally msunderstood, and is called a 

 cruel, heartless boy, when in fact, he is not 

 thinking of hurting the poor fly, but is only 

 intent on seeing how it will act. This is 

 not a defense of cruelty, it is merely a de- 

 fense of the boy, who has no thought of 

 being cruel, but who is intent upon making 

 his little experiments. 



And so, too, we all like to make experi- 

 ments upon anything, even upon plants,, 

 especially if they will respond to our at- 

 tentions. Who does not like to tease a 

 Sensitive Plant (Mimosa) to see how it will 

 respond when touched this way or that way. 

 Watch the next person that you show a 



