Vol. XVII . 
“iene Feecent Literature. 397 
This was immediately followed by the Biological Survey Circular No. 
29, issued over the signature of the Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of the 
Department of Agriculture, which deals with the Lacey Act. The Cir- 
cular is entitled ‘ Protection and Importation of Birds under Act of Con- 
gress approved May 25, 1g00.’ It gives the text of the act, and explains 
in detail its various provisions, as relating to (1) Propagation and Dis- 
tribution of Birds; (2) Importation of Foreign Animals and Birds; (3) 
Transportation of Prohibited Species; (4) Interstate Traffic in Animals 
or Birds killed or shipped in violation of State Laws; (5) Preservation 
and Importation of Birds in Charge of the Biological Survey. ‘* The 
object,” it is stated, ‘‘of placing this work in charge of an Executive 
Department of the Federal Government was merely to supplement and 
not to hamper or replace the work hitherto done by State commissions 
and organizations; in other words, to coordinate and direct individual 
efforts, and thus insure more uniform and more satisfactory results than 
could otherwise be obtained. Greater uniformity in State legislation and 
better enforcement of existing laws can be secured only by the most 
complete cooperation between the forces now at work in the cause of bird 
protection.” 
The importation of the English or European House Sparrow and the 
Starling is absolutely prohibited, as is also their ‘‘ deliberate shipment” 
from one State to another. 
By this special order of the Secretary of Agriculture, ‘‘ the Division of 
the Biological Survey is hereby placed in charge of all matters relating 
to the preservation and importation of animals and birds under this Act, 
and until further notice the Assistant Chief of that Division [who for- 
tunately is Dr. T. S. Palmer] will have immediate charge of the issue of 
permits for the importation of animals and birds from foreign countries. 
All inquiries regarding bird protection and all requests for publications 
on the uses or preservation of birds should be addressed to the Chief of 
the Biological Survey.” 
Another publication requiring notice in the present connection is Dr. 
Palmer’s ‘A Review of Economic Ornithology in the United States,’ 
published in the ‘Yearbook’ of the U. S. Department of Agriculture 
for 1899 (pp. 259, 292). In this important paper thé scope and purpose of 
‘economic ornithology’ is defined, followed by a brief historic sketch of the 
‘development of American ornithology,’ and comments on the following 
topics: ‘Investigations as to the Value of Birds’; the ‘Commencement 
of Investigations along Modern Lines,’ 1858 to 1880; and ‘ A Period of 
Notable Advance in Investigations,’ covering the period from 1880 to 
the present time, exclusive of the work of the Biological Survey, begun 
in 1885. He says, in summing up the principal results due to the work 
of individual investigators: ‘‘ The important researches thus briefly 
noticed include four investigations on the Robin, an examination of 630 
Nebraska birds [by Prof. Samuel Aughey in 1878], about 1,600 Wisconsin 
birds [by Prof. F. H. King in 1882], and an investigation of 2,054 birds of 
