19ia ' J Recent Literature. 295 



l.i-i two classed owned arc by no means distinct, categories from the pre- 

 ceding items (if the list, as Carabidie, Tcncbrionida.-, Pentatomidse, bees, 

 wasps, ichneumon flies, ants, centipedes, millipedes, scorpions and spiders 

 1 1 1 mit of if) categories) are themselves classed by the Poulton school as 

 protected insects, if all of the so-called protected classes of insects were 

 really protected from the attacks of birds, the latter certainly would be 

 hard put to it to find a living. Bui they do live and feed, I may safely say, 

 without prolonged consideration of the theoretically protected condition 

 of so much of their prey. The special instances of supposedly protected 

 insects being eaten thai are pointed out by Mr. Bryant, are the following: 

 "millipedes ... usually considered to be well protected ... by certain 

 si en tions which produce a pungent odor"; cow killers (Mul illidse); and 

 the very hairy larva (jf Euvane88a antiopa. 



In a review in the last number of ' The Auk ' of one of Mr. Bryant ,'s papers, 

 the writer thoughtlessly did an injustice by contrasting one of Mr. Bryant -: 

 statements about conditions in California, with conclusions drawn entirely 

 from Eastern experience. This was in regard to food supply being in the 

 li-i analysis the mosl important factor limiting the numbers of birds. 

 In the humid east there is no doubt that food supply is not ol primary 

 importance in determining the numbers of at least, the seed-eating birds. 

 Regarding a climate where long and continued droughts prevail, a different 

 conclusion is no doubt justifiable. Especially if a drought begins early 

 in the summer after most of the seeds have sprouted, and new ones are not 

 yet formed, t he crop of seeds for that and the succeeding year will be very 

 greatly reduced. Inder such circumstances it is conceivable that seed- 

 eating birds if present in abundance might have difficulty in finding suffi- 

 cient food. We know that in Australia where droughts and rainy seasons 

 endure for series of years, that almost the whole bird population shifts 

 from place to place and that with many species, reproduction is carried on 

 only in the rainy districts when; food is plentiful. 



The reviewer regrets his careless comment on this point, and hopes the 

 presenl explanation will make clear that his purpose at least is to stick as 

 close to facts as possible. — W. L. M. 



Relation of the Turkey-buzzard to Diseases of Live-stock. — In the 

 past few years wide currency in the South has been given to the accusation 

 that Turkey-buzzards spread such diseases of live-stock as hog-cholera, 

 black-leg and anthrax. This scavenger therefore has been threatened with 

 persecution in the land where heretofore it has received the most zealous 

 protection. It is of great interest thai the results of a scientific study of 

 " Anthrax of animals in Panama, with a note on its probable mode of trans- 

 tnission by buzzards" ' show that the transmission of the disease probably 

 never occurs in the way ordinarily supposed, i. e. by the voiding of live 

 bacilli in the feces of buzzards. The authors, Drs. S. T. Darling and L. B. 

 Bates, describe their results as follows, beginning with observations on the 



■ \m. r. Vet. Rev. 42, No. 1, Oct., 1912, pp. 70-75. 



