442 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



from whom Mr. Hornaday received his information. The 

 names of three of his correspondents appear in this list. 

 Circulars were sent to the other eight, but they failed to 



return them. 



EXPERT EVIDENCE. 



Nantucket County. Mr. George H. Mackay of Boston, 

 well known as an authority on Massachusetts sea-fowl, wild- 

 fowl and shore birds, who is very familiar with Nantucket, 

 says that shore birds generally are decreasing ; some species 

 have fallen off from 66 per cent to 98 per cent in sixty 

 years. Other species have not decreased so much, or re- 

 main about the same. He has noticed no general decrease 

 among the smaller land birds. 



Bristol County. Mr. F. H. Mosher of Dartmouth re- 

 ports that some species are decreasing, others remain about 

 the same, and a few seem to be increasing. He says the 

 decrease of certain species has been progressing for at least 

 twenty years. Mr. Arthur C. Bent of Taunton says that, 

 generally speaking, birds are not materially decreasing. In 

 some few cases they are, but the numbers remain about the 

 same as a whole. Mr. Elisha Slade of Somerset says that 

 in his locality practically all native species are decreasing. 

 The decrease has been continuing spasmodically, he says, 

 for forty years. He estimates the falling off of certain spe- 

 cies within thirty years as follows : quail, ruffed grouse, 

 herons and night-hawks, 50 per cent ; mourning doves, 

 purple martins and house wrens, 75 per cent ; bank swal- 

 lows, barn swallows, flickers, swifts, warblers and thrushes, 

 30 per cent. 



Plymouth County. Mr. Arthur Curtis Dyke of Bridge- 

 water reports some species as certainly decreasing. Among 

 these he mentions, mainly, swallows, birds of prey, game 

 birds and wild-fowl. Mr. Rufus H. Carr of Brockton says : 

 " Not appreciably decreasing, except certain species. Game 

 birds and herons, one-third ; hawks and owls, one-fourth." 



Norfolk County. Mr. Henry B. Bigelow of Cohasset 

 says : "I believe that birds are decreasing only slightly in 

 this locality. There is a great yearly variation in numbers. 

 A great decrease in shore birds and water-fowl took place 



