206 Recent Literature. [ Aj* 



omy. It is rather confirmatory, as would be expected, of conclusions 

 based on other structural features. He ventures, however, to present 

 diagrams of the " hypothetical relationships," respectively, of the genera 

 of Quails and Grouse, based wholly on a study of their pterylography. 

 He expresses regret " that the amount of labor involved in this investiga- 

 tion has not been productive of more considerable results"; yet hardly 

 more could have been expected than the contribution of facts here 

 presented. It is not likely that any one set of characters, however, fully 

 known, will ever serve as a basis for a satisfactory phylogeny. — J. A. A. 



Weed on the Winter Food of the Chickadee. ' — The scientific study of 

 the food habits of our birds, now carried on at various Agricultural 

 Experiment Stations and elsewhere, is placing in strong light the indebt- 

 edness of man to insectivorous birds. Mr. Weed's excellent paper on 

 the winter food of the Chickadee shows that at this season the Chicka- 

 dee's food consists very largely of the eggs of insects injurious to vegeta- 

 tion. "This destruction," says Dr. Weed, "of the myriad eggs of plant- 

 lice which infest fruit, shade, and forest trees is probably the most impor- 

 tant service the Chickadee renders during the winter residence." It also 

 destroys the eggs of the tent caterpillar and the fall canker worm, as 

 well as those of other noxious insects. Statistics are given of the results 

 of stomach examinations, and a detailed account of how the investiga- 

 tions were conducted. The conclusion reached is that the Chickadee is 

 " one of the best of the farmer's friends, working throughout the winter 

 to subdue insect enemies of the farm, orchard, and garden." — J. A. A. 



Weed on the Feeding Habits of the Chipping Sparrow.- — This is a 

 detailed account of the number of times a pair of Chipping Sparrows fed 

 their brood of young during " one long day in June," just before the 

 young left the nest. It was found that the parents made nearly two hun- 

 dred visits to the nest, carrying food to their young, during a single day. 

 The precise nature of the food was of course not determined, but the 

 most abundant elements were seen to be soft-bodied caterpillars, crickets, 

 and crane-flies, while doubtless a great variety of other insects was taken. 

 As this bird is an abundant, and at all times a harmless species, and com- 

 monly raises two broods each season, its utility as an insect destroyer is 

 abundantly evident. — J. A. A. 



1 The Winter food of the Chickadee. By Clarence M. Weed. Bull 54, 

 New Hamphire College Agriculture Experiment Station, Durham, N. H., 

 pp. 85-98. June 1898. 



2 The Feeding Habits of the Chipping Sparrow. By Clarence M. Weed. 

 Bull. 55, New Hampshire College Agriculture Experiment Station, Durham, 

 N. H., pp. ioi-no. July, 1898. 



