556 EXPEEIMENT STATIOIST RECORD. 



races have been carefully revised and greatly extended, the names conforming 

 to the latest rulings of the American Ornithological Union. The numbering of 

 the species is the same as in the second edition. A total of 1,200 forms, includ- 

 ing 804 species and 396 subspecies, are listed. 



A. 0. IT. abridged check-list of North American birds, 1910 (Ifew York, 

 1910, pp. 77). — A pocket check-list of numbered scientific and popular names, 

 as abridged from the above. 



Birds of South Carolina, A. T. Wayne {Charleston, S. C, 1910, pp. XXI+ 

 25It, map 1; rev. in Science, n. ser., 32 (1910), No. 828, pp. 668, 669).— This 

 work is based primarily on the personal observations of the author continued 

 during a period of nearly 30 years, mainly in the coast region of the State, to 

 which it was his intention originally to limit its scope. 



The introduction by the editor, P. M. Rea, treats of the physical divisions of 

 South Carolina and the history of South Carolina ornithology. The main body 

 of the work consists of a systematic list of the 309 species of birds of the 

 coast region, followed by an annotated list of 28 additional species from the 

 interior of the State and a hyi)othetical list of 22 species. A bibliography of 

 about 200 titles and an index complete the volume. 



An annotated list of the birds of Costa Rica including Cocos Island, M. A. 

 Carriker, Jr. {Ann. Carnegie Mus., 6 {1910), No. 2-4, pp. 31-^-915, map 1; 

 rev. in Ank, 28 {1911), No. 1, pp. 122-125).— In this work- a total of 758 si>ecies 

 and subspecies is recorded, with full citations of Costa Rican references and 

 many hitherto unpublished records. The 60 pages of introductory matter treat, 

 among other subjects, of the geography and physiography, the life zones, and 

 the history of the ornithology of Costa Rica. 



A bibliography, a comprehensive descriptive list of localities at which birds 

 have been collected, and a folding map of Costa Rica are included. 



Catalogue of a collection of birds from Costa Rica, J. F. Ferry {Puhs. Field 

 Mus. Nat. Hist. [Chicago], Ornithol. Ser., 1 {1910), No. 6, pp. 257-282; rev. in 

 Auk, 28 {1911), No. 1, pp. 125, 126). — This is an annotated list of 74 species 

 collected by the author in Costa Rica from January to March, 1908. 



Annual report of the state ornithologist for the year 1909 {Agr. of Mass., 

 57 {1909), pp. 2-'i5-269, j;?.^. 2, figs. 2).— The recovery of species of birds deci- 

 mated by the elements in 1903 and 1904 is discussed and abstracts of reports 

 regarding the breeding of martins in Massachusetts in 1909 are presented. 



The results of investigations of the possible poisoning of birds by spraying 

 trees with arsenical insecticides, conducted during the year, were inconclusive. 

 It seems probable that the fatal effects of such spraying have been exaggerated. 

 " We can not say that no birds die from eating live, poisoned insects, from 

 eating poisoned foliage, or from drinking poisoned water, but after several 

 years' study of the subject it seems safe to assume that although probably 

 some birds are fatally poisoned, they are the exception and not the rule." 



An introduction to vertebrate embryology, A. M. Reese {Netv York and 

 London, 1909, 2. cd., rev. and cnh. pp. XXI+SI/O, pi. 1, figs. 118).— The embry- 

 ology of the frog, chick, and mammal is taken up in this work. 



Plague in England {Jour. Amcr. Med. Assoc, 55 {1910), Nos. 21, p. 1820; 

 22, p. 1903). — It has been found that plague prevails extensively among rats in 

 part of Suffolk, one of the eastern counties of England, and that a few cases 

 have occurred in man. Hares and rabbits have also been attacked. The out- 

 break seems to be due to the landing of an infected rat or rats from one of 

 the many grain vessels which enter the river Orwell from plague-infected 

 countries. Two ferrets are said to have died from plague after eating a dead 

 rabbit. 



