94 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
giving prizes for the largest number of scalps of hawks and owls 
killed by local contestants. This is poor policy ; for destruction 
of beneficial species will surely follow.’’ 
The fact has been clearly established by the researches of the 
U. S. Biological Survey that of all our hawks and owls, only the 
sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper’s hawk and the goshawk have a 
debit balance against them, and deserve destruction. In the de- 
struction of noxious mice, gophers, insects, etc., the others do 
vastly more good than harm. 
On last Thanksgiving day (1897), fourteen young men and 
boys engaged in a side hunt at Sedan, Indiana, and killed the 
following creatures: 50 English sparrows, 8 chipping sparrows, 
5 blue jays, 27 nuthatches, 17 downy woodpeckers, 14 hairy 
woodpeckers, 12 red-bellied woodpeckers, and 2 flying squir- 
rels. A number of rabbits and squirrels were killed, but 
the total of each was not recorded. Our informant assures us 
that the young men of Sedan are no worse than others—in fact, 
‘‘ better than they will average ’’—and the whole affair may per- 
haps be charged to the cruelty of thoughtlessness as applied to 
innocent wild creatures. 
WHAT THE REPORTS SHOW.—A satisfactory number of re- 
ports have been received from each of thirty-six states. In all 
save avery few, the general estimates of decrease (or increase) 
were so precise that it seemed entirely feasible to combine them 
into a series of general averages for each state. Ina few cases, 
‘where no percentage of decrease tvas named, but a fairly clear 
idea was conveyed by an array of detailed facts, or the use of such 
expressions as ‘‘ decided decrease in bird life,’’ or “‘ very percepti- 
ble decrease,’’ we have assigned to each of such reports figures rep- 
resenting a decrease of ten per-cent., or twenty per-cent., or 
twenty-five per-cent., as the facts seemed to warrant. Througout 
our calculations, wherever a doubt existed, we have given the liv- 
ing birds the full benefit of it, and in the accompanying table of 
diagrams showing the average of decrease in thirty different 
states and territories, we are certain that the statements of loss 
are under the mark rather than above it. Many observers took 
pains to consult others before deciding what their figures should 
be, and the effort to be conservative in estimating losses was 
quite generally apparent. We believe that some observers have 
