Publications Received. 33 



almost upon the dividing line between some of the forms, and at 

 the western range of others. 



The author concludes : "Of the 123 species included in the fore- 

 going list, it is probable that at least eight are fall migrants, breed- 

 ing in the far north and entering the United States early toward 

 the close of summer. It is likely that the remaining 120 species 

 breed in the Flathead Lake region, or near the northern border 

 of the state. At least thirty of the birds listed for the region are 

 permanent residents ; the others are summer residents only, 

 spending the cold months in more southern localities." 



The annotations under each species are well considered, for the 

 most part, and add materially to the value of the paper. We 

 trust that a further study of the birds of the region will give the 

 altitudes at which the different ones nest, and to which they 

 range. — L. J. 



The Food of the Myrtle Warbler. By Clarence M. Weed 

 and Ned Dearborn. New Hampshire College Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station, Technical Bulletin No. 3, November, 1901. 

 Pages 117-128. 



In this contribution to economic ornithology, remarks upon the 

 life history of the Myrtle Warbler, as found in New Hampshire, 

 are followed by a detailed study of about forty specimens taken 

 at different times and places during the month of October, 1899, 

 supplemented by the examination of the stomach contents of two 

 specimens taken, one in March the other in May, 1900. A de- 

 tailed summary table gives the following result in percentages : 

 Insecta, 29.65; Arachnida, .02; vegetable matter, 62.25; undeter- 

 mined matter, 7.13. The authors state that this rather large per- 

 centage of vegetable matter is due to the abundance of the myr- 

 tle berries during the autumn months, but that during spring, 

 when such a source of food is almost gone, a much larger propor- 

 tion of insects is consumed. It thus becomes clear, when we 

 know that the vegetable matter eaten has no economic value, 

 that the Myrtle Warbler is worthy of protection at all times. The 

 destruction of bird life to such a moderate extent, for the pur- 

 pose of determining its true status as an aid to man, we hold jus- 

 tifiable. But once the status is determined, there can be no jus- 

 tification for any further sacrifice for study looking to the same 

 end. — L. J. 



Bird Killing as a Method in Ornithology. By Reginald 

 C. Robbins. Cambridge, Mass. 



From the pen of a layman who has the welfare of the birds upon 

 his heart, we have twelve pages of rather abstruse reasoning to 

 prove that "Bird Killing as a Method in Ornithology" is not jus- 

 tifiable. If we rightly understand the author's argument, it may 

 be briefly stated thus : Since every bird is an individual, and as 



