AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST. 109 
Beetles constitute about 18 per cent of the animal food of this bird. 
mong the most important of these are the May beetle, (Scarabaet- 
dae) a family which contains some of our most injurious insects. In 
the month of May, 21 per cent of all the food of the Lark consists 
of these beetles. 
Bugs, ( Hemiptera) and especially those belonging to the family 
of Stink bugs (Pentatomidae) are eaten throughout the year, con- 
stituting about 4 per cent of all the food; yet, in May this percent- 
age rises to fourteen. 
From the forgoing it will be seen that this bird is pre-eminently 
an insect eater and hence an important factor in the preservatiou of 
our crops. For this reason it should be protected. 
The meadow lark is only one of the great army of insect des- 
troyers; other birds are just as useful in this capacity. Even in the 
apparently destructive career of the crow there are compensations. 
It is a great feeder on May beetles the larvae of which, known as 
white grubs, burrow in the ground and devastate grass lands and 
injure the roots of trees and plants. Robins feed largely on cut 
worms as well as on the white grub of the Mey beetle. Blue Jays 
are extremely efficient as caterpillar hunters; warblers, titmice and 
vireos are hardly less expert. And so on down the Pad list, we 
find that each bird has some part in the economy of natur 
The great question is, how can we protect the birds? The 
game laws of the states are good but the difficulty lies in enforcing 
them. The remedy lies in education. People must be educated to 
realize the economic value of the birds. This knowledge, more 
than anything else, will materially lessen the desire to destroy birds 
and will preserve one of our nation's most valuable assets. 
Department of Zoology 
University of Notre Dame. 
Priority of Names of Certain Families of Plants. 
J. A. NIEUWLAND. 
It seems to be understood that historical priority has become 
the rule for the acceptance of the names of plant families at least 
since the year 1753. Some botanical works have begun to mention 
