234 Recent Literature. [April 



these attacks that came under my observation consisted only of a few 

 jabs of the beak on any part of the body, and none ended seriously." 

 Two half-tone plates give four illustrations of scenes in gull life. — J. A. A. 



Game Laws for 1906. ' — This is the usual annual summary of the game 

 laws revised and brought down to date, so as to include not only all the 

 new legislation, but a summary of the more important bills which were 

 considered and failed to pass. It is a condensed statement of the game 

 laws of the United States and Canada, which govern seasons, shipment, 

 sale, licenses, and other limitations, and is of the greatest interest and use 

 to both game protectors and sportsmen, as well as to shippers and dealers 

 in game. The legislation during 1906 was especially important in the 

 Canadian Provinces, five of which passed new game laws, Alberta passing 

 a law prohibiting spring shooting of water fowl. "The passage of the 

 Mississippi statute marks the completion of a chain of nonexport laws in 

 every State of the Union and provision for the appointment of special 

 officers to enforce the game laws in every State except Alabama, Arkansas, 

 and Texas." Several new preserves were established by Congress, and 

 other preserves were made in the Provinces of Alberta and Quebec. Thus 

 is progress made from year to year in the preservation of game almost 

 throughout the continent. — J. A. A. 



Forbush's 'Useful Birds and their Protection.' — In this volume 2 of 

 over 450 pages, with numerous illustrations, we have set before us, by 

 authorization of the Legislature of Massachusetts, one of the most im- 

 portant works yet published relating to the economic relations and pro- 

 tection of birds. By predilection, temperament, opportunities, and 

 familiarity with his subject, the author is well fitted to deal fairly and 

 exhaustively with the important topic here considered — the food rela- 

 tions of birds to agriculture, and hence the utility of birds to man. An 

 introduction of 22 pages deals in a general way with 'The Utility of Birds 

 in Nature,' while the succeeding twelve chapters treat of different phases 

 of the general subject, and with the enemies of birds, and means for their 

 protection. The chapter headings may here be cited as indicating the 

 scope and general character of the work, as follows: 1. The Value of Birds 



1 Game Laws for 1906. A Summary of the provisions relating to seasons, ship- 

 ment, sale, and licenses. By T. S. Palmer and R. W. Williams, Jr., Assistants, 

 Biological Survey. U. S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers' Bulletin No. 265, 

 8vo, pp. 54, with maps and tables. Washington Government Printing Office, 1906. 



2 Useful Birds | and their Protection. | Containing | Brief Descriptions of the more 

 common and useful Species of | Massachusetts, with Accounts of their Food Habits. | 

 and a Chapter on the Means of Attracting and Protecting Birds. | By | Edward 

 Howe Forbush, | Ornithologist to the Massachusetts State Board of | Agriculture. I 

 Illustrated by the Author, | C. Allan Lyford, Chester A. Reed, and others. | — | 

 Published under Direction of | The Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, | 

 by authority of the Legislature. — No date. 8vo, pp. i-xx, 1-437, with 171 text 

 figures, colored frontispiece, and 56 half-tone plates. (Received March 18, 1907.) 



