Feb. 12, 1910.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
258 
about it, it will reach a constantly wider public. 
From the point of view of the bookmaker the 
work is sumptuous. Its illustrations are exceed¬ 
ingly numerous. The ranges of many species 
or groups are illustrated by maps which add 
enormously to the readiness with which the dis¬ 
tributional history of the animals may be con¬ 
sulted. Of illustrations there seems to be no 
end. There are one hundred full page plates, 
of which many contain several drawings. Many 
of them are portraits of species, but others are 
crowded close with drawings of antlers and 
that the food of birds sometimes varied with the 
location, and cited the difference in food of 
bobolinks when north or south in proof of it. 
Now the good or hurt these birds do outside 
of Maine was not the point of my article. I 
do' not dispute Dr. Fisher that they may do 
good eating cottontails elsewhere, but we have 
no cottontails here for them to eat. They may 
do good in Louisiana eating muskrats, but in 
Maine muskrats are a luxury that we cannot 
afford to feed them on. 
I wonder that a man of Dr. Fisher’s wide 
Passenger Pigeon Work of the Week. 
Clark University, Worcester, Mass., Feb. 5. 
—Editor Forest and Stream: A gratifying letter 
was received this week from Director FLartert, 
of the Tring Museum, London, England, inclos¬ 
ing a letter from a man in Canada who offered 
to collect passenger pigeons for the Hon. Wal¬ 
ter Rothschild. The letter says: “As Mr. Roths¬ 
child does not wish to be instrumental in a final 
destruction of these birds, he asks me to send 
you this letter in order that you may make the 
COYOTE FAMILY—NINE PUPS—THIRTEEN MILES FROM DENVER. 
From a photograph by W. R. McFadden. [From Seton’s “Life Histories of Northern Animals.”] 
others show a dozen different poses of some 
familiar species. There are a multitude of 
drawings of tracks and diagrams. 
The work merits the general applause which 
it has received from naturalists. 
Economic Value of Hawks and Owls. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I see that in your issue of Jan. 22 Dr. Fisher, 
in criticising my article under this caption, en¬ 
tirely overlooks the fact that I wrote of the 
value of Maine hawks and owls to the people 
of Maine. What those birds do in other parts 
of the United States had nothing to do with the 
subject except that as Dr. Fisher’s book gave 
the most favorable and reliable statement I know 
of, I quoted him fairly, and by so doing I gave 
those birds a much better showing than an ex¬ 
amination of stomachs could have shown if they 
were all of birds taken in Maine. I also stated 
experience has known of only one case of an 
owl catching a mink, as he has a chance to hear 
from the whole United States; while here in 
Maine, which he states is only one-hundredth 
part as large, I once found a mink in the snow 
killed by an owl, and have bought the mutilated 
skins of two taken directly from owls. My 
son has found the remains of one lately eaten 
by an owl. I also had one brought to me by a 
hunter who said that a snowy owl was trying 
to catch a mink in a patch of grass on the 
edge of the ice. He said he had his choice to 
kill the owl or the mink and chose the mink as 
being the more valuable. I know of others who 
have told of owls killing mink, but only state 
what I have had positive proof of. 
I should much prefer the task of convincing 
the people of Maine that the much abused house 
cat is of great economic value, to that of mak¬ 
ing them believe that hawks and owls are a 
benefit to them. Manly Hardy. 
necessary investigation.” The case, an island in 
the Pacific, had already been investigated. 
This fine action, which distinguishes Mr. Roth¬ 
schild as a true world-citizen, points the way to¬ 
ward a next important step. How can we as¬ 
sure all good people interested that any nest 
discovered will be safe from the collectors? 
Can we not by mutual consent follow this noble 
lead and have all offers by museums or collec¬ 
tors, all quotations in trade catalogues and ad¬ 
vertisements withdrawn for a term of years to 
give us a chance to save a great species? We 
need to be able to assure people that no tempta¬ 
tions exist to kill the birds or collect eggs, nests 
or young. Will our friends among the museum 
directors and the professional collectors please 
tell the public what they are willing to do in 
this matter? 
Prof. W. Lochhead, Macdonald College, Que¬ 
bec, Canada, has consented to take charge of 
the Canadian end of the work. He has already 
