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July, 1917 PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED 145 In an attractive little 3% by 6 inch book- let entitled "How to Make Friends With Birds" Mr. Ladd tells of the various methods which are in current use for attracting and helping to increase the number of birds about our homes. The principal field of ap- plication of the book is eastern North Amer- ica, but persons living on the Pacific Coast will find much of use to them as well. The author gives specific information for making many different styles of bird houses in sizes adapted to the needs of different species of birds, and also tells how and where they .should be put up in order to get the best results. The use of tin cans, gourds, and nest shelves is discussed, and some pages are devoted to the matter of bird baths. Next, the problem of important bird enemies receives attention, and specific in- structions are given for dealing with the do- mestic cat and English Sparrow, including plans for constructing cat and sparrow traps. Then comes the matter of food plants use'ful to attract birds and protect cultivated crops, and the kinds of "table" food to be offered different species during the winter months and the methods to be employed in placing it. Means of extending the protec- tion afforded birds, a brief mention of the possibilities in artificial propagation, the re- lation of certain birds to important insect pests, and the methods to be used in organ- izing clubs for bird protection form the final chapters. A "brief bibliography" completes the book. The book as a whole is cleverly conceived and executed; only the references at the end are a disappointment. The reader may search in vain to discover whether A. K. Fisher's "Hawks and Owls of the United States" is a government publication, and will have no clue to the fact that the work is an economic treatise.--TRAcY I. STORER. RECENT PUBLICATIONS BY EDWARD HOWE FORBrSH.--Three very interesting papers have come to us from the pen of Mr. Edward Howe Forbush, State Ornithologist of Massa- chusetts, during the year which has just passed. Two of these have a direct appeal to ornithologists, namely those on the cat and the natural enemies of birds, while the third shows something of the work and the possibilities in a public office devoted to the interests of birds. "Bird Killer, Mouser and Destroyer of Wild Life "? are the words which Mr. For- bush uses to characterize the domestic cat, and no one with an open mind who reads his pamphlet on the subject can fail to be convinced of the truth of this description. After giving in some detail the history of the cat, the author dwells on the l?abits of the animal, and compares her with man's other household companion, the dog. Then he goes on to speak of the numbers of cats and of their food habits in considerable de- tail, of their destruction of various kinds of birds and mammals, both wild and domesti- cated, of the economic value of the animals killed by cats, and of the cat as a dissemi- nator of disease. Finally he mentions the va- rious means which have been tried for con- trolling cats, and of the success or failure of these methods. Altogether the pamphlet is an admirable summing up of the case of the cat, pro and con, and even the most ardent cat enthusiast cannot fail to be convinced of the evidence against the animal. A copy of the paper should be in the hands of every bird student. In his paper on The Natural Enemies of Birds ? Mr. Forbush begins by stating in a succinct manner the general relations which exist between birds and their natural ene- mies, particularly of the regulative func- tion which the latter exercise. The elimina- tion of the unfit and the control of total numbers are both useful works of these "enemies". Then he discusses the effect of man's "satellites", the introduced domestic animals, and following these the feral, wild, or natural, enemies. Finally he calls atten- tion to some of the attempts which have been made to "control" these natural ene- mies, by bounties and other means, and in conclusion lays down certain general princi- ples which need to be observed in dealing with the matter of control. In Mr. Forbush's ninth annual report s one gets a very good idea of the multifarious tasks and duties which a State Ornithologist is called upon to perform in the course of a single year. Preparation of five paper? for publication, revision of his book on the game birds of the ?tate, giving numerous lectures and attending to a considerable correspond- ence comprise the general activities of his ?The Domestic Cat. By Edward Howe For- bush. Massachusetts State Board of Agri- culture, Economic Biology--Bulletin no. 2, 112 pp., frontispiece, 20 pls., many figs. in text. 1916. ?The Natural Enemies of Birds. By Ed- ward Howe Forbush. Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, Economic Biology-- Bulletin 3, 58 pp., 7 pls., 5 figs. in text. 1916. SNinth Annual Report of the State Ornith- ologist [of Massachusetts]. By Edward Howe Forbush. Boston, Mass. 26 pp., frontispiece, 6 pls. 1917.