March, 1886. ] 
AMERICAN ROUGH-LEGGED Hawk, (Archibuteo 
lagopus sancti johannis), 9 birds examined. “All 
showed their food to be exclusively field-mice.” 
Marsu Hawk, (Circus hudsonius), 11 birds ex- 
amined. ‘5, revealed mice; 2, small birds— 
Dendreca; 3, frogs; 1, a large number of grass- 
hoppers, with a small quantity of hair, evidently 
that ofa young rabbit.” 
Duck Hawk, (Falco peregrinus nevinis), 1 bird 
examined. The alimentary tract of this bird was 
void of all food. The gentleman, however, who 
presented it to me caught it in a steel trap, and 
advised me that it had robbed him of several 
fine hens.” 
Pigeon Hawk, (dsalon columbarius), 3 birds 
examined. ‘Two of the three specimens which 
I have obtained showed remains of the common 
pigeon.” 
Mr. Warren states that of the above 245 exami- 
nations made, “with the exception of the Spar- 
row, Cooper's, and Broad-winged Hawks, have 
mostly been made during the autumn, winter and 
earlier spring months,” and “that this observa- 
tion is made owing to the fact that it is argued by 
many that the Rupacia are most destructive to the 
rasorial birds during the hawk’s breeding season.” 
An examination of the above list will show that 
the diet of hawk’s does not by any means consist 
entirely of chickens and useful insectivorous birds, 
but that on the contrary the contents of their 
stomachs would seem to indicate that they do 
more good than harm. If they occasionally help 
themselves to some old ben or young chicken is 
not the good service they do in ridding the fields 
of vermin more than an equivalent, and is not the 
laborer worthy of his hire? 
The fact that one person was able to kill two 
hundred and forty-four hawks in one county, (for 
Mr. Warren speaks as if he procured them all 
himself except the Duck Hawk), in eight years 
shows the extent to which these birds are de- 
stroyed. Mr. Warren killed them in the interest 
of science it is true, but many others have prob- 
ably killed nearly as many in the same period 
merely because they were hawks. Let this whole- 
sale destruction cease, and let the farmer pause 
and consider whether he is not killing his best 
friend. 
oath pest = t, 
Longevity of Mockingbird. 
Mrs. Hattie Holmes, 51 and 54 Main street, 
Woonsocket, R. I., lost one of her feathered pets 
Feb. 10, 1886, by death, the deceased being a 
Mockingbird, which lived to the advanced age 
of seventeen years, the usual longevity being only 
six.— Woonsocket Reporter. 
AND OOLOGIST. 45 
ENTOMOLOGY. 
73 Hanover St:, Boston, Mass., 
ASSOCIATE EDITORS. 
Address all communications for this department as above. 
Editorial Notes. 

We would call the attention of our readers to 
the timely and instructive article on “Collecting 
Cychrus,” by L. E. H., in this issue. We are 
promised another article from the same writer 
for April, and as they are all based on practical 
experience, they wil! well repay a careful perusal. 
Prof. S. A. Forbes, State Entomologist of Illi- 
nois, has discovered and proved by repeated ex- 
periments, that many species of larve, notably 
the cabbage worm, may be easily disposed of by 
anew method, viz., the introduction of bacteria 
into their systems. In many parts of Illinois the 
cabbage worms were dying as if stricken by a 
plague. He found that they were filled with a 
species of micrococcus, which could easily be pro- 
pagated artificially. One drop of fluid taken from 
a diseased worm was sufficient to whiten a vessel] 
of beef broth with myriads of these organisms in 
from two to three days. A pint of this mixture 
in a barrel of water sprinkled on the leaves of the 
cabbage is sufficient to introduce the disease, and 
as it is very contagious and fatal it is well worthy 
of atrial. Will not some of our readers try the 
experiment on other larvee, more especially the 
canker worm, and report progress. 
ee eee ello F=0 
Practical Entomology. 
BY WRIGHT AND BATES, 73 HANOYER ST., BOSTON. 
(Continued from page 29.) 
ORTHOPTERA. 
Precuniaritres: Anterior wings are long, nar- 
row sheaths, thickly veined, over-lapping at the 
base, and without scutel; posteriors large and 
thickly cross-veined, and folded longitudinally, 
like a fan, when at rest. Transformations incom- 
plete. Pup active and resembling the imago in 
most respects. 
Locanitres: The (Grillide, or crickets, are 
found under the stones, or hopping about on the 
green fields, hills and pastures. 
The Locustarie (locusts) and the <Aerydit 
(grasshoppers) inhabit the fields and pastures, 
where, in the warm season they may be seen in 
countless numbers hopping and flying about. 
