loss of pioperl^' as well as great tiesUucliuu ol auiiiial 

 life. These fires not only consume different kinds of 

 birds and otlier wild animals, but domestic fowls — tuf 

 keys especially — occasionally lose their lives by llieiu. 

 The Commissioner of Forestry, under the direction of 

 Secretary Edge, in July, 189(5, sent out a i;ircular uuik 

 iug inquiry as to the extent of damage done by the 

 forest fires which took i)lacf as i)reviou8ly stated ic 

 May and June of last year. Tlic infonnalion given on 

 desti'uction in the succeeding pai-agraph is a summary 

 of what was sent by those who kindly and promptly le 

 sponded to the"fire circular." These reports came from 

 twenty counties and they represent about one-half of 

 the counties of the Commonwealth which suffered from 

 the ruinous conflagrations which occasioned fully one 

 million dollars loss. Of the ninety corresjjondents all 

 but six testify to great damage of pheasants or Ruffed 

 Grouse, which in this State nest habitually on the 

 ground. Next in the list we find "rabbits" mentioned 

 by fifty contributors as liaving been destroyed: 41. tui-- 

 keys (wild or domestic); 18, squirrels of diffei'ent kinds; 

 14, quails; !), other birds; 12. eggs and -S. deer. 



FOR THK COMMONWRAI.THS WK.M. 



The preceding paragraphs on bird-slaughter, the mar- 

 ter relating to foi'est fires and the loss mcasioned by 

 them to animal-life, togethei' with the two or tlirec 

 pages that briefly show the enormous amount of loss 

 annually incurred from insect enemies, although some- 

 what foreign to the subject matter of this book, have 

 nevertheless indirectly an important connection with 

 the interests of the agriculturist and poultry rnisor. 



There are about 212.000 farms in IVnnsylvania. and 

 probably every one of the individuals who resides on a 



