BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 57 



23, 1885, at a cost to this county of about $75, and that the slaughter 

 is still going on. 



' Believing, therefore, that the killing of these birds is detrimental 

 to the interests of the agriculturists, they believe that instead of being 

 destroyed they should be protected, and they, therefore, recommend 

 the passage of the following resolution : 



u Resolved by the Microscopical Society of West Chester, that in 

 the opinion of the Society the act of June 23, 1885, offering a premium 

 for the destruction of hawks and owls, is unwise and prejudicial to the 

 interest of agriculture, and so far as those birds are concerned, ought 

 to be repealed. 



u Resolved^ That the President and Secretary of the Society be in- 

 structed to forward a copy of the above resolution to our members of 

 the Legislature at its next session and request their aid towards the 

 repeal of the act so far as is above stated. 



"All of which is respectfully submitted. 



"B. H. WARREN, 



W. TOWNSEND, 



THOS. D. DUNN, 

 JAMES C. SELLERS, 



Committee. 

 " March 4, 



"U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE^ 



WASHINGTON. D. C., March 2, 1886. 



" DR. B. H. WARREN, Ornitholcgist of the Pennsylvania State Board 



of Agriculture: 



" DEAR SIR : Your letter of the 18th inst. has just come to hand. 

 I have read with surprise and indignation the copy sent of section 1, 

 page 141, of the laws of Pennsylvania for 1885, in which a bounty is 

 offered for the destruction of weasels, hawks and owls. The clause 

 purports to have been enacted c for the benefit of agriculture," etc. 



" The possibility of the passage of such an act by any legislative 

 body is a melancholy comment on the widespread ignorance that pre- 

 vails even among intelligent persons, concerning the food of our com- 

 mon birds and mammals, and is an evidence of the urgent need of 

 just such systematic and comprehensive investigations as this depart- 

 ment is now making on the subject of the relation of food habits to 

 agriculture. 



" Their are two kinds of weasels in the Eastern States. The smaller 

 kind feeds chiefly on mice and insects, and is not known to kill poul- 

 try. The larger also preys mainly upon mice and rats, but in addition 

 sometimes kills rabbits and poultry. Both species are friends of the 



