104 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Educational Correspondence. 

 The demand for information received at the office con- 

 stantly increases. The correspondence this year has almost 

 doubled over that of last year. Many queries come by mail, 

 telephone or by word of mouth. Almost every question that 

 one can imagine regarding birds has been asked during the past 

 few years. The requests for information that have been re- 

 ceived during the year may be classified under the following 

 heads: — 



1. Requests for Hterature on birds or lists of good bird books, nature 

 leaflets, State or government bulletins, books on birds published by the 

 State Board of Agriculture, and calls for information about leaflets, etc., 

 pubfished by the Audubon Societies, ornithological magazines, etc. 



2. Requests from school superintendents or teachers for advice and 

 material regarding bird study for use in instructing teachers and pupils 

 in the pubUc schools. 



3. Queries about the utility of birds, their food, their relations to 

 mammals, plants, insects, rodents, fishes, etc.; their value to the farmer, 

 forester, and the people at large; their relation to the high cost of living; 

 their help in winning the war, etc. 



4. Questions regarding the protection of birds; causes of their increase 

 or decrease; laws for bird and game protection; measures for protecting 

 birds around the home, or in sanctuaries or reservations; the native, 

 natural enemies of birds; introduced enemies, means for the destruction 

 of enemies, etc. 



5. Queries about methods of attracting birds, such as feeding birds, 

 kinds of food, plants attractive to birds, putting up bird houses, fur- 

 nishing nesting material, trinmiing or arranging trees and slirubs to 

 furnish proper sheltered nesting places. 



6. Inquiries about means of protecting crops and fruits from birds, 

 about scarecrows, repellents, fences, nets, etc. 



7. Interrogations about the distribution of birds, scarcity or abun- 

 dance, increase or decrease of certain species locally, and one season 

 with another, etc. 



8. Queries in regard to identity of birds and birds' eggs; new birds 

 seen and described, what they are, etc. 



9. AppUcations for employment in connection with ornithology; re- 

 quests to recommend men capable of caring for bird reservations, game 

 farms, etc. 



10. Requests from authors to read and correct manuscripts of books 

 and papers on the protection of birds, or local lists of birds. 



11. General and miscellaneous questions from people of all classes, as 

 to the number of birds in the world, nation or State; questions regarding 



