﻿FIELD AND FOREST. 1 93 



of certain inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of hap- 

 piness after their own fashion. 



We understand that in Boston, where the Sparrows are extremely 

 numerous, the Butcher-birds (Collui'io borealis) lately appeared in 

 force, and feasted upon the birds, until the legislators, or whoever 

 had authority in the matter, ordered them to be systematically de- 

 stroyed, thus thwarting, with characteristic human short-sightedness, 

 the first efforts Nature made to readjust the disturbed balance of her 

 forces. 



Tyrannus verticalis, which Mr. Jouy introduces, was not known to 

 have been secured in the District, but was certainly shot in the imme- 

 diate vicinity, as Mr. Jouy found it fresh in market, on the 30th of 

 September, 1874. The specimen is preserved in the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution. 



Gallinula galeata, according to our private memoranda, was first 

 got here in the autumn of 1863, when a specimen, doubtless from 

 the immediate vicinity, was bought in the market by Mr. Drexler; 

 others besides ourselves have since seen it in the District or vicinity. 



Mareca penelope was got, according to the same token, in same 

 manner, by same person, about the same time; but in the case of a 

 duck, exposed for food in market, there is no assurance that it came 

 from the immediate vicinity. It was, however, doubtless shot on the 

 Potomac. 



Respecting Oceanites oceanica we find a memorandum in our MS. 

 that a specimen was got many years ago and was at time of writing in 

 the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. 



Strix flammed (americana) and Spatuld clypedta, are very prop- 

 erly added, having been omitted by us through "sheer ignorance." 



The propriety of adding Brdtitd bernicla, is, we suspect, open to 

 question. Brant are found in market, but it does not follow that 

 they were got here. 



A writer in Science Gossip says that the common house-fly has a 

 strong dislike for the musk-plant ( Mimulus moscdtus,) and it is sug- 

 gested that if boxes of this plant are placed before the windows of 

 rooms affected, the nuisance may be abated. 



