THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC ORNITHOLOGY. 25 



publication in the form of bulletins or special papers. The 

 publications on birds already issued include seven special 

 bulletins, fifteen papers in the Annual Reports for 1886-1893, 

 inclusive, and eight papers in the Yearbooks for 18941898. 

 Some of these papers, such as ' Seed-planting by Birds,' 

 ' Hawks and Owls from the Stand-point of the Farmer,' 

 'Birds that injure Grain,' and 'Birds as Weed Destroyers,' 

 deal with general topics of special interest. The investiga- 

 tions on some thirty grain- and insect-eating birds were sum- 

 marized in 1897 for a bulletin entitled 'Common Birds in 

 their Relation to Agriculture,' and the work of the Division 

 has also formed the basis of two important summaries, one 

 by Miss Florence A. Merriam, entitled ' How Birds affect the 

 Farm and Garden,' the other by Professor Beal, on 'Eco- 

 nomic Relations of Birds and their Food.' 



"The educational work of the Biological Survey has not 

 been confined to laboratory studies or publications. The 

 Division has prepared exhibits to illustrate the food habits of 

 birds and modern methods of investigation for the expositions 

 at Cincinnati in 1888, Chicago in 1893, Atlanta in 1895, and 

 Nashville in 1897. It endorsed the proposition to establish 

 a 'Bird-day' in the schools in 1894, and issued a circular on 

 the subject two years later. Ever since its organization it has 

 acted as a bureau of information on all subjects relating to 

 birds or their distribution and habits. In short, it has spared 

 no effort to advance the cause of economic ornithology in 

 every possible way." 



Such a record as this is certainly one in which any com- 

 pany of workers may well take pride. And when we realize 

 how few the workers have been and how great has been the 

 territory they have covered, we can but feel that remarkable 

 results have been accomplished. 



As to the future progress of economic ornithology it is 

 becoming more and more evident to careful students of the 

 subject that much of the best work hereafter must be inten- 



