APPENDIX. 
335 
“Of hawks and owls collectively, it may safely be said that, except in rare in- 
stances, the loss they occasion by the destruction of poultry is insignificant in com- 
parison with the benefits derived by the farmer and fruit-grower from their constant 
vigilance ; for when unmolested the one guards his crop by day and the other by 
night. 
“It is earnestly to be hoped that you will succeed not only in causing the repeal 
of the ill-advised act which provides a bounty for the killing of hawks and owls, 
but that you will go farther, and secure the enactment of a law Avhich will impose a 
fine for the slaughter of these useful birds. 
“ Very truly yours, 
-V “ 0. Hart Merriam, 
“ Ornithologist of the Department of Agriculture.'’^ 
“United States National Museum, 
‘ ‘ Under Direction of the Smithsonian Institution. 
“Washington, Marchs.! 1886. 
“Dr. B. H. Warren, West Chester, Pa.: 
“ Dear Dr. Warren : I am just in receipt of your letter of the 1st instant, and 
therefore fear that my reply cannot reach you in time for use at the meeting to-mor- 
row evening. It affords me much pleasure, however, to comply with your request 
for my views concerning the food-habits of hawks and owls and their relation to 
man. 
“Of all the species which you name there are only two which, according to my 
best judgment, are at all seriously destructive to game or poultry, these beinsj 
Cooper’s Hawk and the Great-horned Owl. The rest, with the possible exception of 
the Sharp-shinned Hawk, which certainly is destructive to the smaller birds, m}^ 
experience leads me to regard as very decidedly beneficial to man, their food con- 
sisting very largely, if not chiefly, of the smaller rodents, field mice especially. 
The Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks occasionally pick up a young chicken 
or rabbit, but I feel quite sure that their service to man far outweighs the injury 
which they thus do. The little Sparrow Hawk and other smaller species destroy 
large numbers of grasshoppers, locusts and other large insects. 
“Very truly yours^ 
“Robert Ridgway, 
'•'-Curator, Dept. Birds.’’’’ 
“ Smithsonian Institution, 
“Washington, D. C., March 3, 1886. 
“Dr. B. H. Warren, West Chester, Pa. : 
“Dear Doctor : In reply to your letter of the 3d inst., asking for my opinion in 
regard to the food, etc., of certain hawks and owls specified, I would state that I have 
read Mr. Robert Ridgway’s answer to a similar request from you and that I agree 
with him in every particular. The idea of persecuting the majority of hawks and 
owls systematically is simply preposterous, and any law which has for its object 
their indiscriminate destruction should be immediately repealed, since most of the 
birds alluded to are among the very best friends of the farmer. In regard to a few 
species it is well Avorth while to suspend judgment until a thorough inA^estigation as 
to their habits and food in your state can be carried out, for, as you are Avell aAvare, 
a species Avhich in some parts of the country and at some seasons may be inj urious, 
in other regions and under altered circumstances may be chiefly beneficial. 
“I remain, yours sincerely, 
“ Leonhard Stejneger, 
"• As.sistant Curator, Dept, of Birds, TI. 8. Nat. Mus.'^ 
