462 



Bird - Lore 



Out With the Birds. By Hamilton M. 



Laing. Outing Publishing Co., New 

 York. 1913. i2mo. 249 pages, 39 half- 

 tones from photographs. 



Mr. Laing writes of bird-life in Mani- 

 toba, and succeeds in conveying to his 

 reader no small part of the pleasure which 

 he obviously derived from the experiences 

 and observations he here records. 



His photographs were apparently made 

 with a short-focus lens, usually at con- 

 siderable distance, and very few of them 

 show the large image of a bird, which 

 most bird photographers strive to secure, 

 both for its inherent interest and as an 

 evidence of their skill in approaching their 

 subject. Nevertheless, there is much to 

 be said for these pictures, in which the 

 birds are seen with enough of their sur- 

 roundings to give one an excellent idea of 

 how they appeared in life, not to the bird 

 photographer from his blind, but to the 

 general observer. 



Mr. Laing's book contains much ori- 

 ginal matter, and is fully deserving the 

 index which, strangely enough, the pub- 

 lishers have failed to give it. — F. M. C. 



Recent Publications of the Biological 

 Survey 



For the sixteenth consecutive year, the 

 Survey issues its 'Directory of Officials 

 and Organizations concerned with the 

 Protection of Birds and Game,' thus bring- 

 ing into a 16-page pamphlet information 

 of much value, which, until this publica- 

 tion was established, could be obtained 

 only with difficulty. 



'Farmers' Bulletin' No. 692 (64 pages) 

 contains a summary of the game laws for 

 191 5, and again we have to thank the 

 Survey for making accessible, and con- 

 sequently more effective, information in 

 regard to shooting seasons, licenses, etc., 

 which concern every sportsman. 



Bulletin of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, No. 205, 'Eleven 

 Important Wild Duck Foods,' by W. L. 

 McAtee, supplements Circular 81, Bio- 

 logical Survey, and Bulletin No. 58, 

 Department of Agriculture. It contains 



information of practical value to those who 

 would make preserves or sanctuaries attrac- 

 tive to Wild Ducks (25 pages, price 5 cents). 



Department of Agriculture Bulletin, No. 

 217, 'Mortality among Waterfowl around 

 Great Salt Lake, Utah,' by Alex Wetmore 

 (10 pages), is a preliminary report on the 

 so-called 'Duck malady,' from which 

 many thousands of Wild Ducks, Shore- 

 birds, Snowy Herons, Grebes, and some 

 other birds, have died in the Salt Lake 

 region and southern San Joaquin Valley. 

 The origin of this remarkable disease has 

 not yet been definitely determined, but 

 the evidence thus far gathered indicates, 

 according to Mr. Wetmore, that it is due 

 to an alkaline poison. Drainage which will 

 prevent stagnation of alkaline waters, and 

 an increase in the supply of fresh water at 

 certain seasons, are the suggested remedies. 

 These important studies were to be con- 

 tinued during the present year (10 pages, 

 price 5 cents). 



Bulletin No. 280, Department of Agri- 

 culture, 'Food Habits of the Thrushes of 

 the United States,' by F. E. L. Beal (23 

 pages), presents in detail the results of the 

 study of some hundreds of stomachs of 

 these birds which, it is gratifying to learn, 

 are as useful as they are musical. (23 

 pages, price 5 cents.) 



Bulletin No. 292, Department of Agri- 

 culture, 'Distribution and Migration of 

 North American Gulls and Their Allies,' 

 by Wells W. Cooke, is a most acceptable 

 addition to the series by this author treat- 

 ing similarly of various families of North 

 American birds. The data presented for 

 each species is graphically summarized on 

 maps which, at a glance, plainly show the 

 area over which the bird is distributed and 

 the season in which it occurs. (70 pages, 

 price IS cents.) 



All the Bulletins mentioned above may 

 be obtained from the Superintendent of 

 Documents, in Washington, for the prices 

 named. The one by Professor Cooke gives 

 a list of publications of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture relating to the 

 distribution and migration of birds, which 

 we reproduce herewith for its reference 

 value. 



