May, 1889.] 



a:n^d oologist. 



79 



New Publications. 



Bird Noten from Little Gull Island, N.Y., by 

 Basil Hicks Uutclier, and bird notes from 

 Long Island, N. Y., by William Dutchei-. 

 (From tbe Auk, Vol. VI, No. 2, April, ISW).) 

 Being notes of special interest, separates have 

 been printed which can be obtained from the 

 publisher, L. S. Foster, 3") Pine St., New York. 



With the April issue the Tre.s* American 

 Scientist passed into the hands of Messrs. Sam- 

 uel Carson & Company, 208 Post St., San 

 Francisco, Cal. Editorial management un- 

 changed. 



MassacJmsetts Ploughman, oflficial organ of 

 the N. E. Agricultural Society, weekly, !}i2.00 

 per annum, 45 Milk St., Boston, is a journal 

 tliat is practical and entertaining. 



The Loon, monthly, size 5i^x7J^, 8 pp., 50 

 cents per annum, published by Thad Surber, 

 White Sulphur Si^rings, W. Va. It has for its 

 emblem one of 11. A. Carhart's celebrated cuts 

 of a Loon in the act of uttering a war-whoop. 



ODhxjists' Exchanf/e has been transferred by 

 Dickinson Sc Durkee to Arthur E. Pettitt, P.O. 

 box 20(t0, New York. We congratulate the 

 former publishers on their statement that it 

 has been a financiai, success. May they 

 live long to enjoy the fruits of their labor. 

 We wish it continued success. 



Transactions of the Neio York Academy of 

 Sciences. Vol. VIII, Nos. 1, 2, 8, 4. Edited 

 by Daniel Strobel Martin. 



W. II. Foote's publication, July number, is 

 nearly ready for press. 



Correspondence. 



Editor O. & O.: 



April O. & O. at hand this morning. Allow 

 me to have another word concerning crows in 

 a cornfield, and I will speak of my own ex- 

 perience. I was born on a farm and am now 

 living on one, and have lived in the country all 

 my life with the exception of nine years. 

 Shortly after I began the study of ornithology 

 in a proper manner (1874) I became convinced 

 tliat crows were of far more benefit than injury 

 to the farmer. I still hold that opinion. Mr. 

 Tennant does not state in his last article 

 whether the crows he dissected were adults or 

 young ones. I cannot say that the adult crows 



take the soft kernel of corn for themselves, 

 but I do know that they take it to their nests 

 as food for their young. We have had more 

 or less corn pulled every year and it is safe to 

 say that the soft kernels are taken from nine 

 hills out of every ten that are pulled. I have 

 often «een crows working on a cornfield, and 

 on going over the field have found scarcely any 

 corn pulled, but have found the soil disturbed 

 about the hill, where, undoubtedly, the crows 

 had picked out a cut worm. I have a method 

 of dealing with crows that I think is better 

 than strychnine or the "shotgun act." It is 

 this: If I have time in the spring I mark all 

 the new crows' nests in close proximity to the 

 field intended for corn. As late as possible, 

 but before the eggs are hatched, I overturn 

 the nests. By so doing the annual crop of 

 crows is not shortened but given a setback. 

 Before the second clutch of eggs is hatched the 

 corn is large enough so that they will not pull 

 it up but will take all the cut worms they can 

 find, just the same. Most respectfully, 



D. D. Stone. 



Editor O. tfc O.: 



Dear Sir: I drop you a line to let you know 

 how I am getting along. I have been down 

 here in the valley of Bolafios for three weeks 

 and the three previous weeks I collected along 

 the mountain range of the Siena Madre, 8,000 

 above the sea, where it was so cold nights that 

 water sometimes froze and we were cold under 

 two blankets. It is an extremely interesting 

 country and heavily timbered with pine and oak, 

 and abounds in deer, wild hog and turkey, and 

 a few bear, and full of birds, warblers, wood- 

 peckers, jays, and trogons of many species. 

 Down below in the valley the climate is trop- 

 ical and all tropical fruits fiourish, and the birds 

 are entirely different from those above, al- 

 though, for instance, we find the Troyon mex- 

 icanus upon the cold pine country while below 

 we have the Copper-tailed Trogon. Many nice 

 and rare finches are found in the valleys and 

 along the slopes leading upward. 



So far have collected (500 birds in five weeks. 

 Shall start to-morrow for further on down 

 towards the Pacific coast, where I hope to be 

 by May 1st. Shall then return northward 

 along the mountains. Have felt no return of 

 the fever as yet and snakes are rare here, so I 

 expect if I have to come home this time it will 

 be for some other cause. Will write you again 

 before long. Yours truly. 



Win. B. Richardson. 



Zacatecas, Mar. 17, 1889. 



