iSgz.] General Nofea. ^3 



a good glass, they looked exactly like ordinary young Chipping Spar- 

 rows. 



Junco remained in the same vicinity during all of June, being seen on 

 several dates, as also being heard to sing freely; he was also seen July 14. 

 Whenever seen he was invariably accompanied by several Chippers, prob- 

 ably the two adults and the family of young. In August I sought him 

 vainly. Repeated search failed to reveal him, and at last I gave up the 

 quest. 



The gist of the story is this: Juiico hycmalis haunted one field in this 

 town from late in May until the middle of July; during part of this time 

 he assisted in feeding a brood of young Chipping Sparrows. Whether he 

 was the real father or only the godfather of these young Sparrows is an 

 interesting question which, I deeply regret to say, I cannot answer. —E. F. 

 HoLDEN, Melrose, Mass. 



Distribution of the Species of Peucaea in Cooke County, Texas. — The 



eastern third of the county is covered with timber, principally post oak 

 and blackjack on the upland, with hickory, ash, and elm on the streams. 

 The soil is sandy. In this timber belt is found PeuccEa (estixmlis hach- 

 tnanii. I have never seen this bird in this county in winter. 



The central part of the county embraces the Grand Prairie, which is 

 undulating and slopes gently to the southeast, the underlying chalky 

 limestone producing a rich, stiff, almost black soil, and forming an es- 

 carpment to the north and west. In this prairie only have I foimd Peu- 

 ccBH cassini. It is only seen during the breeding season, and it is then of 

 irregular occurrence. 



Under the scarp of the above-described limestone is a sandy soil grown 

 with post oak and black jack, but in a dwarfed condition, while there is a 

 growth of bramble (chaparral) not seen in the eastern portion of the 

 county. In this part of Cooke County alone have I seen Pcueeea ruficefs 

 eremceca. I have seen the young on the wing on May 31, and have also 

 seen one pair on December 27. 



All three have distinctive songs, but only cassini sings on the wing, 

 and it does not always do so. I once shot one singing in the crack of a 

 worm fence. — Geo. H. Ragsdale, Gainesville, Texas. 



Thryothorus ludovicianus in Massachusetts. — On September 27, 1891, 

 I shot in my garden in Cambridge, Mass., a Carolina Wren. The bird 

 was an adult male and was in fine condition. He had been in the neigh- 

 borhood for nearly a week and possibly longer, and was frequently to be 

 heard calling or singing. The spot seemed to be to his taste, for my own 

 and the adjoining gardens afford an abundance of shade trees and shrub- 

 bery, while, separated only by a high board fence, is an extensive pile of 

 firewood and odds and ends of lumber the attractions of which he seems 

 to have been the first to discover. 



As far a^ I am aware this species has been captured in New England, 

 beyond the limits of the Carolinian fauna, but three times before: at 



