1920 J Recent Literature. 4od 



'Fins, Feathers and Fur' 4 for March, 1920 contains an appeal from 

 Harry J. LaDue for the extermination of "vermin" by the sportsmen. 

 Everything which may destroy game is today "vermin," but the de- 

 struction of all this wild life may so upset the balance of nature that the 

 game will go too before we realize the complicated interrelation between 

 wild creatures with which we are interfering. Such work should be done 

 only after most careful consideration by those who understand the prob- 

 lem. The statement that "the Crow is now everywhere regarded as one 

 of the great menaces to song and game birds" is hardly supported by the 

 reports. It is destructive locally to certain crops and should be dealt 

 with accordingly, but in other places and other seasons it is unquestion- 

 ably beneficial. The hue and cry against the Crow which has lately 

 spread over the country seems to have been inspired by certain manu- 

 facturers of guns and ammunition more than by anyone else. 'Blue- 

 bird' 5 in its March issue takes up the cudgels for the Crow just as earnestly 

 as the previous journal denounces him. 



' California Fish and Game' 6 tells of the arrest in that state of violators 

 of the Migratory Bird Treaty all of whom were fined substantial amounts. 

 There is also an account of the efforts to rid San Diego of the English 

 Sparrow which promises to be successful as the number now remaining is 

 estimated not to be over 100. The Illinois Audubon Society has published 

 another of its attractive ' Bulletins' 1 for the spring of 1920, which contains 

 an admirable commentary on the State game laws, and many notes and 

 reports on bird study. 



A Fascicle of Papers on British Economic Ornithology. — All of 

 the articles here reviewed are by Dr. Walter E. Collinge who is giving 

 more attention to economic ornithology than any other of his country- 

 men. Two of the papers were published in the new 'Journal of the Wild 

 Bird Investigation Society,' Dr. Collinge, editor, which is devoted to the 

 preservation and to all other interests of British birds. One 1 of these is 

 general in nature, calling attention to the close relationship of birds to 

 the welfare of agriculture, the greater attention paid to this matter in 

 other countries and the desirability of doing more work on the subject 

 in Great Britain. The Rook and the Pheasant are discussed in some 

 detail as examples, respectively, of destructive and beneficial species, and 

 a tabulation is given of the principal food items of 22 species of British 

 birds which shows "that the sum total of their activities is distinctly in 

 favor of the farmer and fruit-grower." The paper concludes by pointing 

 out the great importance at the present time of aiding British agriculture 



4 Minnesota Game and Fish Dept., St. Paul, Minn. 



5 Bluebird, 1010 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. 



6 California Game and Fish Commission, Sacramento, Cal. 



7 Illinois Audubon Society, 1649 Otis Building, Chicago, 111. 



1 Wild Birds: Their Relation to the Farm and the Farmer. Op. cit. Vol. 1, 

 No. 2, March, 1920. 



