DEPLETION OF WILD LIFE 309 



ing from every possible source facts bearing on f au- 

 nal areas. In 1885, he secured from Congress an 

 independent status for his work, under title of the 

 Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy 

 of the Department of Agriculture, and outlined in- 

 vestigations to cover the "food, habits, distribution, 

 and migrations of North American birds and mam- 

 mals in relation to agriculture, horticulture, and 

 forestry." In time, reports on the English sparrow 

 and many bird and insect relationships to agricul- 

 ture went abroad. Its early functions were "first, to 

 determine as accurately as possible the food of birds 

 of economic importance ; second, to act as a court of 

 appeal to investigate complaints concerning depreda- 

 tions of birds on crops ; and third to educate the pub- 

 lic as to the value of birds." 



Hawks, owls, crows, black birds, woodpeckers, 

 and blue jays received first attention. Many thou- 

 sands of bird stomachs were examined. Habits were 

 closely studied. The section's first public achieve- 

 ment was lessening popular prejudices which had 

 long been causing wholesale destruction of birds of 

 many species. 



Meantime, Dr. Merriam was realizing his long 

 time dream of life zone investigations. In whatever 

 part of the country, particularly the West, he and 

 his assistants travelled, scientific observations were 

 made with utmost care bearing upon the relations of 

 temperature and altitude to species. Public an- 

 nouncement of results was first made in a report of 



