44 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



The Report of the Secretary of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture for 1898 has come to hand. The excellent work done by this 

 Institution is not confined to botanic&l subjects. " The Biological Survey 

 is often called upon to determine the value of birds and animals to practical 

 agriculture. It is in effect a court of appeal in which complaints are 

 investigated concerning those species which are considered injurious to 

 crops. A careful study is made of the food of useful and injurious birds 

 and mammals, and thousands of stomachs of birds are examined in the 

 laboratory. Two thousand three hundred and twenty-nine stomachs, 

 mainly of Sparrows, Swallows, and Woodpeckers, were examined during 

 the year. A report has been prepared on the native Cuckoos and Shrikes, 

 and reports on Flycatchers and native Sparrows are in preparation. Several 

 of the latter birds feed largely on weed-seed during the winter, and it is a 

 matter of no little interest to determine how far they can aid the farmer in 

 checking the increase of noxious weeds. The importance of this work is 

 emphasized by the increasing demand made on the Department for informa- 

 tion and publications on birds, in consequence of the recent widespread 

 popular interest in ornithology." 



There appears to be a considerable loss of avian life at Niagara Falls. 

 The Rev. R. Ashington Bullen has contributed an interesting note on the 

 subject to ' Science Gossip ' for last December, from which we extract as 

 follows : — " Through the kindness of Mr. David Boyle, Curator of the 

 Archaeological Museum, Toronto, Ontario, I have received the following list 

 of birds which are washed over Niagara Falls. It has been compiled by 

 Mr. Roderick Cameron, who has also added an account of how the birds are 

 caught. The list, so far as I can ascertain, has never before been pub- 

 lished : — Whistling Swans {Cygnus americana), Common Brent-geese (Ber- 

 nicla brenta, Stepheus), Canada Goose (B. canadensis, Boie), Mallard 

 Ducks (Anas boschas, Linn.), Pintail Ducks (Dafila acuta, Jenyns), Ameri- 

 can Wigeon (Mareca americana, Stephens), American Green-winged Teal 

 (Nettion carolinensis, Baird), and other varieties, American Eider-duck 

 (Somateria spectabilis Leach), American Black-scoter or Sea-coot (Velionetta 

 perspicillata, Kaup), American White Pelican (Pelecanus tachyrhynchus), 

 Shoveller, or Spoonbill Duck (Spatula clypeata, Boie), Grey Duck, or Gad- 

 wall (Chaulelasmus streperus, Gray), Black Dusky-duck (Anas obscura, 

 Gmelinj, Wood-duck (Aix sponsa, Boie), Canvas-back Duck (Aythya vallis- 

 neria, Bonaparte), Red-head Duck (A. americana, Bonaparte), Blue-billed 

 Duck, or Scaup (Fulix marila, Baird), Whistle- wing Duck (Bucephala 

 americana, Baird), Golden-eye Duck (B. islandica, Baird), Buffle head or 

 Butter-ball Duck (B. albeola, Baird), Eider or Spectacled Duck (Somateria 

 spectabilis, Leach), Scoter or Surf Duck (Oidemia americana, Swaiuson), 



