May, 1914 '?HE COOPER CLUB MEMBER AND SCIENTIFIC WORK 105 camera hunter, or more properly, the hunter with a camera. It is needless to point out that nothing has been more useful in promoting interest in and dif- fusing knowledge about birds than the photograph. Many a reader of a mag- azine, be it ornithological or otherwise, will imbibe what knowledge he can by looking at the pictures even though he never takes time to read a text descrip- tion. Pictures leave a more lasting impression than does descriptive writing. Let me also call to your attention the fact that good photographs are practically as reliable in establishing records as are skins. Read Dawson's "Identification by Camera" and see the accompanying photographs in the November-Decem- ber Co?)oR, if you want to be convinced. Ray and Heinemann's Pine Gros- beak photographs are really much more valuable in establishing the breeding record of this bird than the nest and eggs themselves, for whereas the original nest and eggs can only be seen by a few people at most, and will ultimately be lost or destroyed, the photographs have convincingly demonstrated the record to thousands and will in the end be more permanent. The life-history-of-the- sharp-shinned-hawk series which appeared in the last Co?oR is another beau- tiful example of valuable photographic work. There is no reason why a rare collection of negatives should not be just as valuable, if not of actually much more value, than a collection of skins or eggs. The one drawback to the col- lecting of photographs appears to be the expense attached thereto. However, the day is not far distant when even those in more humble circumstances will be able to indulge, for already the brave are making their own Graflex and Reflex cameras. The economic phase of ornithology has been largely neglected by Cooper . Club members. This is especially evident when we view the work of the United States Biological Survey and then inspect the meagre notes to be found in our western publications. This Bureau of the United States Department of Agriculture has within the last seventeen years examined the stomachs of nearly 75,000 birds and tabulated the contents found, and has published 135 documents relating wholly or in part to the food of birds. Somehow at this day and age the convincing value of a live bird lies in its usefulness. This use- fulness is computed on its food habits and the consequent value to the agricul- turist. Doubtless this point of view is exaggerated and the other real value,- the esthetic,--is left in the background; but we must meet the demands of the times. What do birds eat? Observation says that the Wes{ern Meadowlark eats grain almost exclusively. Stomach examination shows that this bird eats in- sects almost exclusively except during the time when the numbers of insects are at a minimum. Casual observation and inferential reasoning says that the Roadrunner eats the eggs and young of quail and other birds. Stomach exam- ination of over twenty-five of these birds taken in localities from which com- plaint comes has failed to disclose a feather or an egg-shell. Ducks have been slaughtered by the millions in California and yet when the man who desires to propagate ducks wants to know of what their food in the wild is made up, the answer must be given in general rather than specific terms: "largely vegetable---seeds and grasses". But of what kinds? Is it not more important just at the present time to know what birds eat than when they arrive, how they act, or how many eggs they lay ? The farmer wants to know what the Barn Owl's average catch of gophers is, whether the number of insects destroyed by the Western Meadowlark will more than court-
