292 lucn;! IJUrolun. [ April 



California should take heed of Mr. Grinnell's timely warning and nol 

 repeat on t ho Pacific slope the ever-to-be-regretted folly thai was per- 

 petrated in the case of the Passenger Pigeon in the east. w . S. 



Henshaw's ' Fifty Common Birds of Farm and Orchard.' This 

 admirable publication is designed as an 'Educational Leaflet' to aid people, 

 especially in the more remote pans of the country, to become familiar with 

 their more important bird friends. It will undoubtedly reach hundreds of 

 poisons who are quite out of touch with more general works on ornithology 

 and do a world of good. 



The great desideratum in such a pamphlet i. <\ colored illustrations which 

 will render unnecessary the tedious and bulky printed description, has been 

 met by fifty excellent color figures from paintings by I'uettes. which are 

 run into the text, two on a page, somewhat after the style of Reed's 'Hud 

 Guide.' The accompanying text which is oi necessity very limited is 

 admirably compiled. The length of the bird is given, sometimes with a 

 line or two on color or form; and then come two paragraphs covering 

 'Range' and Habits and Economic Status.' with frequent reference to 

 other publications oi the biological Survey. An introduction of six pages 

 Covers forcibly the principles oi economic ornithology . 



Taken in its entirety we doubt if so much sound ornithology has ever 

 been presented in such a small space and the pamphlet should not only 

 enlist a multitude of recruits in the cause oi bird protection but it should 

 develop a number oi ornithologists as well. It is to be hoped that this 

 'Bulletin' will not be allowed to go ' out of print.' Perhaps by coopera* 

 lion between the Agricultural Department and the Audubon Societies it 

 might be kept always available. Y\ . S 



Three Important Economic Reports. In this annual report as Chief 

 of the Biological Survey. Mr. 11. W. Henshaw - presents the usual interest- 

 ing summary oi the work of this important division of the Department of 

 Agriculture. The relation of birds to the Alfalfa and Boll Weevils, and the 

 Chestnut-bark Disease, have been investigated, and publications continued 

 on the food habits oi various common birds Tin- bird-life of Porto Rico 

 and Alabama has been studied as well as the status oi the English Sparrow 

 and European Starling and means of trapping the former. 



Under importations it is interesting to know that upwards of 157,000 

 live birds were brought into the United States during the year 1912, of 

 which 362,604 were canaries. 50,086 were game birds and 44,387 non- 

 game birds other than Canaries. 



The California Associated Societies for the Conservation of Wild Life* 

 have issued a pamphlet entitled 'Western Wild Life Call' which contains 



• Fifty Common Birds of Farm ami Orchard. Fanner's Bulletin 513, i 9 

 Dept. Agriculture, 1913. pp. t 31. 



ort of the Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey (or 1912. Bj Benrj 

 \\ h isIkmn Annual Reports of the Dept. of Agriculture. 1912. pp. t 24 

 Western Wild Life Call. Published by the California Associated societies 

 for tlu- Conservation of WiM Life, Feb. 7, 1913. pp. i 16. 





