396 The Wilson Bulletin— No. 92 



oils. In those days, no one thought of considering birds of 

 any kind in their relation to man and his material interests ; 

 while, as we at the present time know, in this age of com- 

 mercialism, our Government employs a staff of economic 

 ornithologists, who are eng"aged in making estimates of the 

 value of every species of bird in our avifauna, in so far as 

 they affect our forests, our farm products, and our market 

 supplies of feathered game. To arrive at these estimates, 

 vast numbers of birds are sometimes sacrificed, and often 

 with no better result than to enforce, through federal legis- 

 lation, some expensive blunder. 



In these extensive investigations, owls have come in for 

 their full share of being scrutinized with respect to their 

 habits and the contents of their '' stomachs," — the latter line 

 of examination costing many a one its life. These investiga- 

 tions need not detain us here ; and, aside from such value as 

 owls have for the scientist, as pointed out above, it is of the 

 greatest importance that agriculturists and sportsmen should 

 ponder well upon the question as to the value these birds have 

 for them in their — it must be admitted — widely different 

 pursuits. 



With but comparatively few exceptions, agriculturists be- 

 lieve, as did their ancestors before them, that owls are simply 

 to be classed among such other "'vermin" as rats, skvmks, 

 and foxes, and this quite irrespective of their size, species, 

 or genus. This is a a long way from being true, — indeed 

 it is c[uite the reverse of the truth ; for, apart from some of 

 the medium sized or larger owls occasionally helping them- 

 selves to a fowl from the poultry-yard, these birds are the 

 best friends the agriculturist — or more particularly the dealer 

 in feathered live-stock — has in the entire range of wild bird 

 life. As a matter of fact, nearly all owls hunt at night, at a 

 time when most all farm-yard fowls are at roost and un- 

 der cover, and therefore safe from their attacks. Turkeys, 

 guinea-fowls, and ducks may, at times, form exceptions, and 

 the Great-horned owl from time to time captures one of their 

 kind ; but even this is by no means a common occurrence. 



