July, 1915 
EDITORIAL NOTES AND NEWS 
169 
13. “Farallon Island Bird Life”; in mo- 
tion picture; by Mr. Paul J. Fair, of Oak- 
land. 
14. “Niche of the California Thrasher”; 
by Dr. Joseph Grinnell, of Berkeley. Discus- 
sion by Dr. T. S. Palmer, Mrs. Myers, and 
Messrs. Dawson and Grinnell. 
Thursday forenoon, May 20. 
15. “The Genus Problem in Present Day 
Nomenclature”; an able discussion of a 
pressing problem; by Dr. Witmer Stone, of 
Philadelphia. 
16. “The Work of the National Associa- 
tion of Audubon Societies”; by Mr. T. Gil- 
bert Pearson, of New York City. 
17. “Two Characteristic California Wad- 
ers: the Black-necked Stilt and the Snowy 
Plover”; with lantern slides; by Mr. Tracy 
I. Storer, of Berkeley; remarks by Messrs. 
Murphy, Dawson and Joseph Mailliard. 
18. “Food Habits of the Roadrunner” ; 
by Dr. Harold C. Bryant, of Berkeley. 
19. “History of the Bohemian Waxwing 
in British Columbia”; by Mr. Ernest M. An- 
derson; read by title. 
On Thursday afternoon a portion of the 
visiting delegates were conducted to the 
summit of Mt. Tamalpais. Others visited 
the California Museum of Vertebrate Zool- 
ogy at Berkeley. On Friday an all-day ex- 
cursion on the U. S. Fish Commission ship, 
Albatross, was enjoyed by over eighty mem- 
bers and friends of the two ornithological 
societies. Snap shots of some of the parti- 
cipants are presented on the last two pages 
of this issue of The Condor. On Saturday 
the convention disbanded. A number of the 
A. O. U. people went to the Yosemite Valley 
where some of them listened for the first 
time to the thrilling notes of the Canyon 
Wren and Water Ouzel. 
The above brief outline of happenings 
at the A. O. U. Congress can give but a 
faint idea of the atmosphere of the occa- 
sion. The setting at the Exposition was 
unique and doubtless will never be dupli- 
cated. We voice the hope, however, that it 
may become the custom to hold an A. O. 
U. Congress on the Pacific Coast regularly 
in the future, say every fifth year. 
PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED 
Spencer | Fullerton Baird | a Biography | 
including selections from his correspond- 
ence | with Audubon, Agassiz, Dana, and 
others | By | William Healey Dall, A. M„ 
D. Sc. | with nineteen illustrations | [vig- 
nette] | Philadelphia & London | J. B. Lip- 
pincott Company | 1915 [“published April”] ; 
pp. xvi -f- 462, 19 unnumbered plates. ($3.50.) 
The book of the above title is of more 
than ordinary interest to western bird stu- 
dents. Baird was intimately identified with 
the scientific operations of the Pacific Rail- 
road Surveys and with the publication of 
the results of those operations. The wealth 
of biographical detail collected by Dr. Dall 
concerning Professor Baird thus provides a 
great number of facts relative to the early 
history of ornithology in our western states. 
The book contains many letters written 
by the notable naturalists of the times, and 
many interesting side-lights are thereby 
thrown upon the relationships and charac- 
ters of these men. Baird himself was evi- 
dently the inspiring genius of his period. 
Practically every important achievement in 
the field of vertebrate zoology seemed to 
have been either initiated by him or promi- 
nently fostered by him. 
We owe a very great deal to Dr. Dall for 
his expenditure of labor in making available 
a full account of Baird’s life and activities. 
This is the one biography of recent publica- 
tion that has appealed to the reviewer as 
most emphatically worth reading. The pres- 
ent-day naturalist, young and old alike, can- 
not fail to get inspiration as well as enjoy- 
ment out of it. — J. Grinnell. 
Birds of New York, by Elon Howard 
Eaton. Part 2. General Chapters; Land 
Birds. 1914 (our copy received March 20, 
1915). Pp. 1-719, pis. 43-106. (For full 
title and review-notice of Part 1, see Con- 
dor, xii, 1910, p. 207.) 
As with Part 1, the prominent feature of 
this elaborate state publication lies in its 
illustrations. There are colored plates, rep- 
resenting nearly every species of bird indi- 
genous to New York, from the brush of L. A. 
Fuertes. These have been reproduced for 
the most part with marked success. 
The text treatment of species is neces- 
sarily not exhaustive. The descriptions are 
brief, and properly so where colored plates 
are so bounteously provided as in the pres- 
ent book. “Distribution” and “Haunts and 
habits” naturally relate almost wholly to 
the state concerned. 
Of general interest are the introductory 
chapters. These bear titles as follows: Bird 
ecology; the economic value of birds; the 
status of our bird laws; Special measures 
for increasing bird life; Bird refuges; Pri- 
vate preserves. Under these captions the 
various matters are impartially discussed, 
the conclusions according for the most part 
with the results of experience elsewhere. 
As means of increasing bird population, 
Eaton gives first importance to the erection 
of artificial nesting sites, this with due re- 
gard to the predilections of English Spar- 
rows and house cats. The planting of food- 
producing trees, and the provision of wat- 
ering places during the summer, are also 
recommended. 
With so comprehensive a work on its 
ornithology, New York State takes front 
rank as a commonwealth which recognizes 
the importance of supplying its schools and 
libraries with adequate treatises upon its 
natural history. — J. Grinnell. 
