794 



The National Geographic Magazine 



fully 90 per cent of the flaxseeds were 

 found to have been stung by a certain 

 species of parasite and to contain its de- 

 veloping larvte. At this time a field of 

 wheat near Sharpsburg, Maryland, was 

 found to be infested by the fly and ex- 

 amination indicated the absence of para- 

 sites. On April 8 some thousands of the 

 parasitized flaxseeds from Pennsylvania 

 were brought to Maryland and placed in 

 the field. On July 8 an examination of 

 the Maryland field showed that the para- 

 sites had developed so rapidly as to bring 

 about an almost total destruction of the 

 fly. 



ENCOURAGING SILK CULTURE IN THE 

 UNITED STATES 



Eighty-five ounces of tested silkworm 

 eggs were imported from Italy and dis- 

 tributed to 343 applicants in the spring. 

 About 11,000 seedlings of the best white 

 mulberry w'ere also distributed. Cocoons 

 were purchased from American growers 

 at a rate varying from 90 cents to $1.15 

 per dry pound, and these cocoons were 

 reeled at the department. The reeled 

 silk on hand was sold during the year at 

 $4 a pound, bringing in a return of 

 $1,012. 



TRAFFIC IN CAGE BIRDS 



The Biological Survey has continued 

 the work of educating the public, and es- 

 pecially the school children, regarding 

 the economic value of birds as insect de- 

 stroyers, and the duty of protecting them. 



The fact that 400,000 cage biids, most 

 of them canaries, are yearly imported into 

 this country, and that the number is con- 

 stantly increasing, will surprise many. 

 There seems to be no reason why most if 

 not all the cage birds required in this 

 country should not be raised here. The 

 industry is very profitable in Germany 

 and elsewhere abroad, where it is carried 

 on by the women and children of indi- 

 vidual families, who, with comparatively 

 little labor and trouble, add an interesting 

 occupation to their ordinary household 

 duties and secure satisfactory returns in 

 cash. The mountain regions of the 



Southern States, particularly, would seem 

 to furnish almost ideal conditions for 

 such an industry, which, besides being 

 lucrative, possesses the added advantage 

 of substituting domestic birds for such 

 wild species as the mocking bird, cardi- 

 nal, and nonpareil, whose value to agri- 

 culture is too great to make it desirable 

 to confine them in cages. 



DUCKS AND SHORE BIRDS 



In the past, one of the important food 

 sources of the United States was its 

 game, particularly its ducks, geese, and 

 shore birds, thousands of which found 

 their way to the markets of all our 

 large cities, to be used for food by rich 

 and poor. Unfortunately the natural 

 supply of these birds was not wisely 

 husbanded with an eye to the future, but, 

 as in the case of the bufifalo and wild 

 pigeon, they were mercilessly pursued, 

 till at the present time not a few species 

 are threatened with speedy extinction. 

 The subject is important, and it is ob- 

 vious that if the more desirable species 

 of ducks and geese are to be preserved 

 for the future, additional legislation is 

 needed. The essential data to serve as a 

 basis for legislative action are a knowl- 

 edge of the food supply and of the pair- 

 ing times of the several species of ducks, 

 geese, and waders, and of the routes they 

 pursue in migration. These subjects are 

 now being carefully investigated. 



Our game birds are constantly dimin- 

 ishing in abundance, and the practice of 

 introducing foreign birds as a substi- 

 tute grows in favor. Many species, 

 serving both for food and sport, have 

 already been more or less firmly estab- 

 lished in various parts of the country. 

 During the year Illinois imported more 

 than 1,000 European partridges, and 

 Kansas imported about 2,000 English 

 pheasants. Capercailzie and black game 

 of northern Europe, the former of which 

 is nearly as large as wild turkey, have 

 been imported successfully for liberation 

 at various points, notably on Grand Isl- 

 and, Michigan, and in the Algonquin 

 Park, Ontario. 



