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Publications of Interest to Agriculturists. 
tbe neighbouring varieties. There is here abundant scope for the 
cultivator to secure, by proper selection, such parents in an apple 
or pear orchard (for what is true of the pear is true also of the 
apple) as will give the best qualities to his produce. Taking the 
one property of weight as an indication of what may be done, it was 
found that the average pear of a self- fertilised William weighed 100 
grams, while the pollen of an Easter applied to the William gave 
an average fruit of 167 grams, of an Angouleme 133 grams, of an 
Anjou 116 grams, of Clapp’s Favourite 114 grams, and of a White 
Doyenne only 89 grams. 
The practical conclusions from these interesting experiments 
are : 1. Plant mixed orchards, or at least avoid planting solid 
blocks of one variety. 2. Where blossoms fail to produce fruit for a 
series of years in large blocks of trees of one variety, it is most prob- 
able that the failure is due to want of cross-fertilisation. 3. And 
as bees and other insects are the agents for the transportation of 
pollen, it is desirable to see that there are sufficient bees in the 
neighbourhood, or within two or three miles, to visit the blossoms. 
When feasible, sheltered situations should be selected to encourage 
the visits of insects. 
William Carruthers. 
44 Central Hill, Norwood, S.E. 
II.— HAWKS AND OWLS . 1 
This publication, which is an official bulletin on the Hawks and 
Owls of the United States in their relation to Agriculture, is no 
mere pamphlet, but a handsome volume of some two hundred pages, 
illustrated by twenty-six original coloured plates. It presents the 
results of a laborious scientific investigation extending over several 
years, and the keynote of the bulletin is struck in the letter of 
transmittal, whei’e we read : — 
The statements herein contained respecting the food of the various 
hawks and owls are based on the critical examination, by scientific experts, 
of the actual contents of about 2,700 stomachs of these birds, and conse- 
quently may he fairly regarded as a truthful showing of the normal food of 
each species. The results prove that a class of birds commonly looked upon 
as enemies to the farmer, and indiscriminately destroyed whenever occasion 
offers, really rank among his best friends, and with few exceptions should 
be preserved, and encouraged to take up their abode in the neighbourhood 
of his home. 
Seventy-three species of rapacious birds are dealt with, and these 
are divided, on economic grounds, into four classes : — (a) Those 
wholly beneficial or harmless ; (b) those chiefly beneficial ; (c) those 
in which the beneficial and harmful qualities balance ; (d) those 
positively harmful. 
1 The Haivlcs and Owls of the United States in their Relation to Agriculture. 
By A. K. Fisher, M.D. Published by the TJ.S. Department of Agriculture: 
1893. 
