20 CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HISTORY SURVEY [Bull. 



and the food and habits of the birds. This bulletin will be of 

 interest not only to ornithologists, but also to teachers and farm- 

 ers, and to the multitude of people who have learned to love the 

 birds. The publication of this bulletin will help to correct some 

 erroneous impressions, widely prevalent among farmers, in regard 

 to some of our birds. Many of the birds of prey, for instance, 

 which are commonly regarded as the farmer's foes, are really his 

 friends. In fact, the sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, and 

 the great horned owl, are probably the only birds of prey that 

 are in any considerable degree injurious to agriculture in Con- 

 necticut. It is matter of regret that the publication of this bul- 

 letin has been so long delayed, owing to the pressure of other 

 duties and cares which has made it impossible for the authors to 

 give the amount of time necessary for the completion of the work. 

 Happily a very competent editorial assistant has been found in 

 W. P. Bliss, M.A., of the State Bacteriological Laboratory. Mr. 

 Bliss is himself an earnest student of the birds, and his general 

 training has given him an excellent fitness for editorial work. 

 He has been giving a good deal of time to collating and getting 

 into shape for publication the notes of Mr. Sage and Dr. Bishop, 

 and it is now hoped that this very valuable bulletin will be able 

 to be published at an early date. 



As stated above, two parts of the proposed work on the insects 

 of Connecticut — the general introduction, and the Euplexoptera 

 and Orthoptera — are already in press. The third part, includ- 

 ing the Hymenoptera, has been accepted for publication. A 

 fourth part, taking up the Hemiptera, is now in preparation by 

 specialists under the direction of Dr. W. E. Britton. The Hemip- 

 tera include the insects popularly called bugs, as well as the 

 cycadas, leaf-hoppers, plant-lice, and the lice infesting man and 

 other mammals. They are mostly to be regarded as injurious 

 insects, some of them being formidable destroyers of agricultural 

 products, while others are troublesome parasites of man and of 

 domestic animals. 



As the completion of the Guide to the Insects of Connecticut 

 will undoubtedly occupy many years, it has been thought that 

 it would be desirable to publish at as early a date as practicable 

 a check-list, giving simply the names of the insects of various 

 orders known to occur in Connecticut. Dr. Britton is at work on 

 the preparation of such a check-list, and it will probably be ready 

 at an early date. 



