272 



Bird -Lore 



the meetings of the Linnaean Society. Stand- 

 ing for the more popular phases of natural 

 history, particularly for field studies of the 

 local fauna, the Society is deserving of 

 far greater support from local natural- 

 ists than it now receives. 



Dr. Braislin's paper occupies pages 

 31-123, bringing together for the first time 

 the information in regard to the occurrence 

 of birds on Long Island which has been 

 gathered, most of it, by Linnaean mem- 

 bers, since the publication of Giraud's 

 book in 1844. The number of species 

 listed is 364; but, subtracting two extinct 

 and three introduced species and 2 (Acto- 

 dramas cooperi and JEgialitis mcloda 

 circumcincta) that have no standing, we 

 have 356 as the number of birds properly 

 to be accredited to Long Island. 



Dr. Braislin's list is authoritative; his 

 annotations are to the point; references 

 and exact migration dates are liberally 

 given, and we wish he had also presented 

 an analytical synopsis of the Long Island 

 avifauna together with remarks on the 

 confines of the faunal areas represented. — 

 F. M. C. 



Recent Publications of the Bureau 

 OF the Biological Survey of the 

 United States Department of Agri- 

 culture. 



Each publication of the Biological Sur- 

 vey increases the indebtedness of orni- 

 thologists to this Bureau. 



Sentiment is admirable in its place, but 

 its place is assuredly not legislative halls, 

 and, when the advocate of bird-protec- 

 tive measures appears before committees 

 of Senate or Assembly, facts, not esthet- 

 ics, win him a hearing. 



The increasing number of facts in re- 

 gard to the economic value of birds, gath- 

 ered by trained specialists who are ac- 

 knowledged authorities in their particular 

 branches, which the Biological Survey is 

 each year making accessible, form the most 

 effective arguments which can be presented 

 when urging the birds' claims to our 

 attention. 



Among the recent economic publica- 

 tions of the Survey, each one of which, 

 through distribution or republication, 



should have tne widest possible circula 

 tion, are: Circular No. 56, 'Value of Swal- 

 lows as Insect Destroyers, ' by H. W. 

 Henshaw; Circular No. 57, 'Birds Useful 

 in the War Against the Cotton-Boll 

 Weevil,' by H. W. Henshaw; Bulletin 

 No. 29, 'The Relation of Birds to the 

 Cotton-Boll Weevil,' by Arthur H. Howell; 

 and 'Birds that Eat Scale Insects' (reprint 

 from Yearbook of Department of Agricul- 

 ture for 1906), by W. L. McAtee. 



The Survey has also published a re- 

 port, by Henry Oldys, on ' Cage-birds 

 Trafi&c of the United States', in which it 

 appears that the once large trafi&c in Amer- 

 ican birds for 'pets' has been suppressed, 

 and that for the year ending June 30, 1906, 

 we imported 322,297 cage-birds, of which 

 274,914 were Canaries and 47,383 various 

 species, chiefly of wild birds. 



The Survey's Department of Game 

 Preservation, under the efi&cient care of 

 Dr. T. S. Palmer, continues its good 

 ofl&ces in unifying the work of game pro- 

 tectors by the publication of the follow- 

 ing papers: Bulletin No. 28, 'Game Com- 

 missions and Wardens, Their Appoint- 

 ment, Powers and Duties,' by R. W. 

 Williams, Jr., a book of nearly 300 pages; 

 Farmers' Bulletin No. 308, 'Game Laws 

 for 1907,' by T. S. Palmer, Henry Oldys 

 and Chas. E. Brewster; a tabular chart 

 showing the ' Close Seasons for Game in 

 the United States and Canada,' by T. S. 

 Palmer and Henry Oldys; Circular No. 

 62, 'Directory of Officials and Organi- 

 zations Concerned with the Protection 

 of Birds and Game, 1907,' by T. S. Pal- 

 mer; from the Yearbook for 1906, 'The 

 Game Warden of Today,' by R. W. Wil- 

 liams, Jr.; and ' Game Protection in 1906,' 

 by T. S. Palmer.— F. M. C. 



Vermont Bird Club, Bulletin No. 2, 

 Burlington, Vt., July, 1907-8VO., 35 pages. 



The first and most important paper in 

 this Annual Bulletin is by Mrs. E. B. 

 Davenport, on the 'Birds of Windham 

 and Bennington Counties. ' An intro- 

 duction conveys a clear impression of the 

 leading physiographic and botanic fea- 

 tures of the region, and is followed by a 

 briefly annotated list of 176 species. This 



