47 6 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



animal kingdom. Extensive bibliographies are presented, including titles of the 

 abstracted articles and also numerous less important ones. 



The bobwhite and other quails of the United States in their economic 

 relations, S. D. Judd {U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Biol Survey Bui. 21, pp. 66, ph. 2, 

 figs. 10). — The food habits and economic importance of the 7 species of quail known 

 to occur in the United States are discussed in some detail. 



Particular attention is given to a study of the bobwhite for the reason that this 

 bird has been more carefully observed and its feeding habits are better known. 

 From an examination of 918 stomachs of the bobwhite it was found that its food 

 consisted of about 83 per cent vegetable matter and 16 per cent animal matter. The 

 vegetable food consists of grain, weed seeds, and other material. A long list is given 

 of the species of weed seeds found in the stomachs of bobwhites. The insect food is 

 discussed according to its systematic position. Similar accounts are presented of the 

 masked bobwhite, California quail, gambel quail, mountain quail, scaled quail, and 

 Mearns quail. 



The feeding habits of all the species of quails considered in the bulletin are quite 

 similar, the variations which occur being partly referable to the variable food in the 

 different parts of the country. The bobwhite is the only species which appears in 

 the Eastern States, while the others are generally distributed from Texas to Oregon. 

 The range of these species is continuous along the southern border of the country, 

 but along the northern border there is an extensive interruption in the Great Plains. 



Birds known to eat the boll weevil, V. Bailey (U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Biol. 

 Survey Bui. 22, pp. 16). — On account of the serious damage caused by the boll weevil 

 in the Southern States, a special effort was made to obtain reliable information con- 

 cerning birds which feed upon this pest and the amount of assistance which may be 

 expected from them in protecting the cotton crop. 



Considering the fact that for the past 12 years the weevil has been steadily spread- 

 ing over the cotton belt, it appears that birds can not be depended upon to extermi- 

 nate the pest. As a result of field observations and examination of birds' stomachs 

 in the laboratory a considerable list of birds was determined as feeding upon the 

 weevil. This list includes Carolina wren, titlark, tomtit, western meadow lark, 

 Florida meadow lark, common phoebe, redwing blackbird, white-throated sparrow T , 

 western savanna sparrow, brown thrasher, Texas bobwhite, brewer blackbird, 

 cowbird, jackdaw, mockingbird, butcherbird, killdeer, and others of less importance. 

 " The total number of stomachs examined, exclusive of mourning doves and quail, 

 was 570 and of this number 78 contained boll weevils. The weevils were not numer- 

 ous at the time when the birds were collected. As a result of his study of the ques- 

 tion, the author urges the protection of insectivorous birds within the cotton belt. 



Bacteria used in the destruction of rats and mice, L. Bahe ( Cenibl. Bald. 

 [ete.-], 1. Alt., Orig., 39 {1905), No. 3, pp. 263-274).— -Thus far the bacteria which 

 have been used for the destruction of rats and mice belong to the Coli group. 



The bacteria used against rats include the forms cultivated and recommended by 

 Danysz and Issatschenko. Mice are much more susceptible to bacterial infection 

 than rats and succumb to the action of certain bacteria toward which rats are quite 

 immune. A number of feeding experiments were carried out during which rats 

 were fed cultures of Ratin. These cultures produce either an acute infection with 

 enteritis and septicemia without involving the lungs or a chronic infection which 

 exhibits pulmonary symptoms. When Ratin was fed to various species of mice, 

 including Mus musculus and M. agrarius] the following results w r ere obtained: 



White mice, grey house mice, field mice, red mice, and wood mice were nearly all 

 destroyed by the culture. Mus agrarius, horse, dog, fowls, cat, and calves 2 months 

 old were not affected in any way by receiving the cultures. Young sucking calves, 

 however, showed considerable weakness accompanied by enteritis, enlarged spleen, 



