isli'o^'i'd ii8 iioiiltn lliicves. One loiiiitv coiuiiiissinucr, 

 thrice elected to the office because of his wisdom, pni 

 demial and I'louomical ways, sanetioued the paying of 

 bounties for nighthawlv's heads. When the commU- 

 sioner's attention was called to the injustice of such 

 payments he claimed he favored them because the 

 "blamed bird must be a hawk otherwise it would not 

 have been named as it was." 



.Vlthough the framer of the act, when he wrote "^o 

 be paid for every hawk fifty cents," did not evidently 

 mean to include nighthawks, probably a legal decision 

 to pay for them was strictly proper. This incident 

 ilemonsl rated to the writer the great importance i.'f 

 employing common names for wild animals which 

 would not he misleading as is the appellation "night 

 hawk." 



SHRIKES AND WEASKLS. 



The Shrikes or IJutcher birds which feed mainly <m 

 large-sized beetles, grasshoppers, other detrimental in 

 sects, mice and the pestiferous English Sparrow, have 

 been captured, it is said, in goodly numbers, and sold 

 for premiums in several counties under the "catchy" 

 but misleading names of "Little Blue" or "Little Rird" 

 hawks. Dr. C. Hart Marriam. V. S. Depl. of Agr.. 

 Washington, D. C, says: 



"There are two kinds of weasels in llie eastern states. The 

 smaller kind feeds chieflj- on mice and insects, and is not 

 known to kill poultry. The larger also preys mainly on mice 

 and rats, but in addition sometimes kills rabbits and poultry. 



Both species are friends of the farmers, for the occasional 

 IosjS of a few chickens is of trifling- consequence compared with 

 the good that these animals are con.stantly doinp in checkins 

 the Increase of mice." 



Additional illustrations could lie addt d to further 

 emphasize the imperative need of ii better and more 



