324 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Although the author does uot believe that moles cause damage by 

 eating' vegetable food, yet the fact is recognized that much aunoyance 

 may be caused by their "works" in lawns, flower beds, etc. A number 

 of means of exterminating moles are mentioned. These include trap- 

 ping, poisoning, and driving them away by placing such substances as 

 mineral pitch, gas tar, or other materials of an unpleasant odor in their 

 runways. 



The distribution of moles in Pennsylvania is .shown in some detail in 

 tabular form. 



Are vegetable substances found in the stomachs of moles? V. Vradi (Selsk. 

 Klio~. i Lyesov., 186 (1S97), Jug., pp. 415-430). — Contrary to the generally accepted 

 view that moles feed exclusively on animal substances, tbe author found substances 

 of vegetable origin in 17 out of 42 stomachs investigated. — p. fireman. 



Ornithology of North Carolina, J. W. P. Smithwick {North Carolina Sta. Bui. 

 144, pp. 195-228, map 1). — Tbis is a list of the birds of North Carolina with notes on 

 eacli species. The species listed number 303 and tbere are 22 which the author says 

 sbould occur in the State since tbey are found in neighboring States. 



Life zones in New Mexico, T. D. A. Cockerell {New Mexico Sta. Bid. 24, 

 pp. 44). — The bulletin aims to give a broad outline of the subject of the New Mexico 

 life zones, with some illustrative details, fuller data to be published later. Tbe 

 main life zones recognized in New Mexico are the Treeless Zone, above the timber 

 line; the Black Timber Zone, from about 10,000 feet elevation to the timber line; 

 the Mid-alpine Zoue, from about 8,000 to 10,000 feet elevation; and the Transition 

 Zone, about 7,000 feet elevation. 



Some notes on Nebraska birds, L. Bruner (Nebraska Sort. Soc. Bpt. 1896, pp. 

 4S-179,ji<js.51). — The paper gives some general remarks on birds, the text of the 

 Nebraska bird law, and a list of Nebraska birds, together with notes on their 

 abundance, migrations, bleeding, food habits, etc. Of the 780 species of North 

 American birds 415 are recorded as visiting Nebraska, 227 as breeding and 100 as 

 wintering in the State. 



Report of the State zoologist, B. II. Warren {Pennsylvania Dept. of Agr. Bui. 

 34, pp. 83-90). — Among other things it is noted that many of the birds and other 

 animals for which bounties are offered are species that subsist largely on detrimental 

 forms of animal life. The plan of offering bounties is not countenanced. 



Investigations of the stomach of the English sparrow prove beyond all doubt that 

 it feeds upon cereals, ripe fruits, and buds and blossoms of shade and fruit trees, and 

 that the tender growth of the grape and other vines are especially attacked. It also 

 destroys the young and the eggs of valuable insectivorous birds. Papers are noted 

 on ravens, crows, jays, and shrikes, on skunks and their economic value, household 

 pests, interesting facts concerning game, and miscellaneous natural history notes. 



Report of the Commissioner [of Fish and Fisheries], 1896 ( U. S. Com. Fish and 

 Fisheries Bpt. 1S96, pp. 072, ph. 6.3). — In addition to the report of the Commissioner, 

 the volume contains Report on the propagation and distribution of food-fishes, by 

 W. de C. Eavenel; Report upon the inquiry respecting food-lishes and the fishing 

 grounds, by R. Rathbun ; and Report of the division of statistics and methods of 

 the fisheries by H. M. Smith. The appendix includes, among other articles, the 

 following: Notes on the extension of the recorded range of certain fishes of the 

 United States coasts, by II. M. Smith and W. C. Kendall; Notes on the food of four 

 species of the cod family, by W. C. Kendall ; Report of a survey of the oyster regions 

 of St. Vincent Sound, Apalachicola Bay, and St. George Sound, Florida, by F. Swift; 

 List of the available publications of the Commission; Statistics of the fisheries of 

 the interior waters of the United States, by II. M. Smith, and notes on the fisheries 

 of the Pacific coast in 1895, by W. A. Wilcox. 



