No. 4.] REPORT OF STATE ORNITHOLOGIST. 381 



most of the day and coming out at dusk. Half-wild stray cats 

 are more commonly observed, and hundreds of thousands are 

 killed annually in the larger cities by the agents of humane 

 societies, but no attempt has been made to reduce their numbers 

 in the farming country where they are most harmful to bird life. 

 There is a movement on foot in several States to secure public 

 control and private ownership of the cat by requiring the owner 

 to take out a license for each cat, as licenses for dogs are now 

 required. All these subjects, as well -as the means of protecting 

 birds and poultry from cats, will be discussed in the forthcoming 

 bulletin. 



Exhibits showing the Economic Value of Birds. 

 Three exhibits showing birds and their food have been com- 

 pleted during the year under the direction of this office. Two 

 of them consist of elegant large cases for the Crane Museum at 

 Pittsfield enclosing preserved birds and insects, with natural 

 accessories and a background of Massachusetts scenery painted 

 in oils. The suggestion came from Zenas M. Crane, and the two 

 cases represent some of the common birds, insects and plants of 

 Massachusetts in a summer scene, and others in a winter scene. 

 The other exhibit was prepared as a part of the Massachusetts 

 agricultural exhibit at the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San 

 Francisco in 1915, and probably will be returned to the rooms 

 of the Board of Agriculture when the exposition is over. It is 

 somewhat similar to the summer exhibit of the Crane Museum, 

 but smaller. It is illustrated on the opposite page. 



Questions. 

 The demand for information about birds from all classes of 

 people constantly increases. Inquiries regarding birds come 

 from many States. This is owing to the general awakening of 

 interest in birds, and to the fact that comparatively few States 

 are provided with official ornithologists. The ISTational Associa- 

 tion of Audubon Societies, recognizing the demand for such in- 

 formation, organized in 1914 a department of applied ornithol- 

 ogy, to be conducted by the Rev. Herbert K. Job, who resigned 

 the position of State Ornithologist of Connecticut in order to 



