Publications Reviewed 101 



ical Survey in cooperation with the government of the island. Be- 

 cause of the damage to crops by insect pests and the resulting 

 pecuniary loss, the Board of Commissioners of Agriculture of i the 

 island in 1911 requested the aid of the United States Department 

 of Agriculture in an effort to determine the relations of the island 

 birds to the insect fauna." "Investigations were begun in De- 

 cember, 1911, and continuous field work was carried on until Sep- 

 tember, 1912, permitting nine months of consecutive observation. 

 All the principal regions of Porto Rico were : visited, short trips 

 were made to adjacent islands of Vieques and Culebra, and four 

 days were spent on Desecheo Island in IMona Passage." 



In addition to extended treatment of each of the 162 species 

 found on the islands the report is divided. into the following parts: 

 "Birds found in cane fields." "Birds found in coffee plantations." 

 "Birds frequenting citrus groves." "Bird enemies of the mole 

 cricket." "Bird enemies of the sugar-cane root-borer." "Bird 

 enemies of the may beetle." Under the heading, "Economic con- 

 siderations," the statement is made that none of the species can 

 be considered wholly pernicious. It was found that many of the 

 insect eating birds consumed considerable quantities of vegeta- 

 ble matter. 



This paper is valuable both from the standpoint of a local list 

 and for its contribution to the literature of economic ornithology. 



L. J. 



The Domestic Cat. By Edward Howe Forbush, State Ornithologist. 

 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State Board of Agricul- 

 ture, Economic Biology, Bulletin No. 2. 1916. 



This paper is an able presentation of the cat problem. It gives 

 convincing proof that the common house cat is a real menace to 

 the wild bird life of the more settled districts, and that the com- 

 pensations resulting from the destruction of rats and mice by cats 

 come far short of balancing the account. A further indictment 

 of the cat is the proven fact that cats may carry such infections 

 as small-pox and scarlet fever. Since the house cat is an intro- 

 duced animal it is altogether likely that restrictive legislation not 

 less severe than that for dogs will have to be resorted to in or- 

 der to keep the numbers within reasonable bounds. l. j. 



Proceedings of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union. Vol. VI, Parts 

 2 and 3. February 27 and July 10, 1915. Pages 25 to 68. 



Part 2 is concerned with "The Eskimo Curlew and its Disappear- 

 ance," by Myron H. Swenk, and "Some bird notes from Lincoln and 

 vicinity," by R. W. Dawson, and "Three records from the Ne- 



