lln<,K \<>rES 117 



How to Destroy Knj;Iisli SpairowH is the subject of Farmers' Bul- 

 letin 383, issued by the U. S. Department of Agriculture under date of 

 January 20, 1910. The Bulletin is of si)€cial interest following, as It 

 does, soon after the lively discussion in Chicago over the propriety of 

 encouraging school children to feed this pest. Although the extermi- 

 nation of the bird is impracticable, "a reduction of its numbers Is feas- 

 ible and important. The present bulletin aims to describe the best 

 methods of destruction." The author is Ned Dearborn. 



The Proceediiifts of the Second Annual Conference on Agricul- 

 tural Science in the Summer School of Agriculture, Massachusetts Ag- 

 ricultural College, has just been issued by the Department of Agri- 

 cultural Education of that institution. The topics discussed are: Na- 

 ture Study and Agriculture in Rural Schools; Elementary Agriculture 

 as a Subject of Study in the Grades; Some Connections between School 

 Studies and Home and Industrial Activities; Agriculture for High 

 Schools; Relation of the Physical Sciences to Agriculture; and Bio- 

 logical Sciences in Their Relation to Agricultural Sciences. 



County Scliools of AgTicuItui*e, Manual Ti*aining and I>omestic 

 Science are discussed by W. S. Hiser in The Educator-.Tournal for 

 April, 1910. A second paper of interest in this number is entitled 

 "General Hygiene in its Social Bearings". 



General Biology, a Book of Outlines and Practical Studies for the 

 General Student, by James G. Needham, Ithaca, New York. Comstock 

 Publishing Co., 1910. Pp. 530, 64 practical studies, 287 text figures, 

 and 9 portraits. $2.00 (Postpaid, $2.16.) This eagerly awaited text 

 has just been issued in attractive form with very serviceable flexible 

 binding. 



"It is not a formal text and not at all a treatise, but only a guide 

 intended to assist the student in acquiring for himself some real 

 knowledge of living nature." This statement from the preface is evi- 

 dence that the author appreciates a present need. He has endeavored 

 to escape the dominance of morphology and to give a more equable 

 treatment than has been customary, "in the hope of leading the stu- 

 dent to a practical acquaintance with elementary phenomena in the 

 whole broad field". The book is intended as a college text; the sub- 

 ject matter is arranged to suit the seasons of the college year, and 

 more than a year's work is outlined in order that selections may be 

 made. This is quite in keeping with the growing recognition of the 

 nature-study view-point as extended to secondary and collegiate in- 

 struction. 



The general plan is indicated by the topics of the comprehensive 

 <^hapters. of which there are but seven: The Interdependence of Or- 

 ganisms; The Simpler Organisms; Organic Evolution; Inheritance; 

 The Life Cycle; The Adjustment of Organisms to Environment; and 

 The Responsive Life of Organisms. 



Each chapter has its important divisions and includes a number 

 of practical exercises. An appendix deals with laboratory materials 

 and methods, together with suggestions for field work. 



A valuable feature is the number of portraits of noted biologists 

 from Aristotle to Mendel and Pasteur. 



The book is an important contribution to educational biology. 



