190 General Notes. [ March, 
Bartram’s MS. name, “ Talpa americana,’ which thus pae 
the trivial name “dreweri” of Bachman. It therefore beco 
necessary to.know the hairy-tailed mole as Scapanus americanus. 
--Elliott Coues, Washington, D. C. 
THE CLOVER-SEED FLY, A NEW InsEcT PEST.—At the annual 
meeting of the N. Y. State Agricultural Society, held at Albany 
in January last, J. A. Lintner, of the State Museum of Natural 
History, read a paper in which, among other injurious insects 
recently observed, he gave an account of the larvz of an insect 
which had been discovered two years ago in several localities in 
Eastern and Northern New York, hidden within the seed-pods 
of the red clover (Trifolium pratense) and destroying the seeds. 
The perfect insect had not yet been seen, but the examination of 
the larva showed it to belong to the Cecidomyidz, and in all 
probability very nearly allied to the wheat-midge, Cecidomyia 
destructor. A description of the larva was given under the name 
of Cecidomyia trifolii n. s 
The range of this insect’s depredations or the extent of its 
ravages was as yet unknown. In some localities in the western 
counties of the State of New York, the clover was so infested 
with it last year that it was worthless for seed. It is believed 
that the not infrequent failure heretofore reported of the clover- 
seed crop throughout the country, which has been ascribed to 
imperfect fertilization of the blossoms and various other causes, 
‘has been the result of the secret operations of this little insect.— 
F. A. Lintner. 
THE ENGLISH SPARROW AND OUR NATIVE Sonc-Birps.—The 
introduction of the English sparrow, and the substantial see 
they came in contact with the intruders. The house wren, the 
summer yellow-bird, the blue-bird, the green-finch, song-sparrow, 
chipping-sparrow, and the vireos, were, a few years ago, abundant 
in all these villages; now, but few of them are seen during the 
season. e robin is as abundant, and as great a plunderer, of 
our small fruits as ever. The Baltimore oriole remains. The 
cedar-birds come for their feasts upon the apple-blossoms in the 
` spring, and upon the agent a in their season. The slate-colored 
snow-bird takes up its winter quarters with us, and the cro 
black-bird and the bbird ‘build their nests in our fonder re: 
trees. 
It can not be supposed that the native songsters retire in antici- 
pation of the intrusion of their foreign cousins, and some other 
cause for their disappearance must be sought. 
In this neighborhood, the want of np nesting-places 
