The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-09-23

game winch SATISFIES the soul OF the or
binary sportsman. He Is after the
ROosevelJian kind. Last year during his
annual leave he made The big man
eaters Of the Rocky Mountains hunt
their hiding places and returned home
rejoicing with Jbe skin of huge
grizzly, which was the chief among a
number OF valuable trophies This year
he makes n second trip. returning, she
latter part Of the month. His friends
expect great things from the pTuwesS or
his trusty rifle Ar. Dotv Is also an .eN-
pert amateur photographer ana uses his
camera as we'll as his rife on his huat-
ing trips. His way Of telling his hunt
ing stories and illustrating them with
his own pictures in prominent sporting
magazines has gained FOR him quite a
reputation as al author
Mr. Doty Is native OF wisconsin but
nov calls Washington his home. He Is
prominent IN fraternat circles and is a
member or the, Washington Light IN
fsntrY.
Mr. Frank McKenna. Of the document
section Of the Agricultural Department.
IS away from his duties IS a consequence
OF a serious Illness OF which he has been
the victim for the past week.
Mr. G. Harold Powell, assistant DO
mologist IN the Agricultural Depart
ment, has returned from Connecticut.
where he made a very successful shin
ment OF peaches to England. Nj. Poweu
shipped $50 crates OF the finest Belle of
Georgia" peaches.
An Interesting work is being carried
on in the Department Of Agriculture bv
Prof. F z. L. BeaI. economic ornithoio-
gist Of the biological division, and his
assistant DR.. 5. D. Judd. They are in
vestigating the foods Of dinereut. kinds
Of birds with a view 10 determining their
beneficial OF detrimental propensities.
Many birds do a great deal OF good in
destroying harmful insects; while others
have just opposite tendencies and do
work Of Q very injurious nature Some
birds combine both qualities The
method pursued by the professor in de-
terminiBg the birds debit and credit
is by an examination Of its stomach. IN
this way be ascertains in what its food
consists. He has made arrangements
with all the different oTnitholOgists all
over the country TO furnish him with
stomachs Of the different species of
birds that exist IN their respective re-
gi0ns together with whatever data they
are able TO give in addition In this
manner the ornithological division has
gathered some 5000 stomachs. about
q, 900 OF which have been anatyzed- In
special cases where complaints have
been made about the ravazes Of certain
classes OF birds. the division has made
L. Is
rare
Tie examination Of birds stomach
is a very nice bit CT work. It often en-
tails a surprising amount OF labor and
q great scientific knowledge. The diff
ferent kind Of insects which the bird
eats can only be asceTtained by indiges-
tible qualities, such as the skull and
bones; while fruits are told by their
seeds. and grains by the starch granUles
Of which they are composed.
Some birds, says the professor. are
beneficial in one part OF the country
while in another part they are exceed
ingly detrimental; for instance the bob
o-iiuk. as Il is called in the north
causes no injury, whereas in the South II
plays sad havoc among the rice fields
In fact the damage II works in the
South can in no way be compensated
for by the good Il does in the North
Prof BeaI meets with many curious
incidents in his investigation Of birds
and their food IN one instance he was
at work OF a crow from Maine IN the
stomach Of the crow was found a young
bird; IN the stomach Of the bird he
found q number Of gTasshOppeTs: in the
grasshoppers he found what w9s 10 Oe
expected-grass
The professor says that where the
birds do the most harm 1t is the result
OF their species becoming too abuud-
ant in that locality. Every species has
its own kind Of food. and where there
are too many Of one species the food
supply runs out, and. as q consequence,
the birds prey on what they otherwise
would have left untouched.
Prof Beal has issued q number OF
bulletins on different kinds OF birds the
most important being On the back bird.
the crow. the rice bird, OF the South,
and the sparrow. Dr. Judd. his assist
ant, is now investigating the food Of
the game birds, with a view to dcterm-
lining whether their value is greater
alive as insect killers or dead as sub
jects for food IN the majority Of eases
so far investigated it has been found
that the value OF the live bird is far ia
excess.
cDEaEiLE OF the ENEllEl sparrow,
Prof BeaI holds that they are decided
~ a nuisance. He maintains that for
eign birds impOrfei 10 our shores in
variably turn OF be a pest Leav-
ing behind the enemies that held them
In check IN their native country, they
are free here. and usually expose the
most perniciOus tendencies.
Summing il up as a whole the pro-
fessor states that birds are vastly more
beneficial than detrimental
IN 1901 Pros Beal made d trip 70
California during the fruit session TO
investigate the food habits OF the Pa
clfc Coast birds. He intends 70 make
the trip again in the summer OF the
coming year. There are in this coun-
try about $50 different species Of birds,
not counting the innumerable sub
species.
Prof Beal has been in his present
position for about eleven years. and is
one Of the foremost experts in his line
IN this country Dr.. Judd has served
in The archaeological division for seven
years.