Page:Condor21(2).djvu/43

 'Mar., 1919

.. EDITORIAL 'NOTES AND NEW.:  ? ".: .'..; 89 EDITORIAL NOTES AND NEWS We are .not infrequently asked why THF CONDOg is not printed on a highly surfaced quality of paper such as will give a greater brilliancy of contrast and more detail in the photographic illustrations. There are two reasons why we adopted the present dull- finish, uncoated paper. Durability was the first consideration. The distant future should be considered in that our magazine is a repository of recorded facts which we want to be available in libraries 200, 500, years hence; and the lasting qualities of surfaced paper are very much in doubt. Just dampen a copy of THE CONDOR, indeed soak it over night, and do the same with a glossy-papered periodical, then dry them both, and compare results! Furthermore, and an immediate concern, as it happens, of those of us who have to do a great deal of close reading, the eyestrain is very much more trying on the reader in the case of glossy paper than with a dull surfaced stock. The Editor admits that he now rarely under- takes to read any publication 'in which sur- faced paper is used---simply because of the personal, physical factor of eyestrain. On the whole, and lacking the resources for running separate "plates", we decided in fa- vor of the present paper. Even so, did not our printer get admirable results with the halftones in the January CONDOR? IS there not something appealing as well as restfuJ about those gray-toned Solitaire pictures? From the very beginning of our interest in the names of birds we have been accustomed to use the generic name Falco, and this name has come to attach itself conveniently and with apparent scientific exactness to our ideas of the relationships of the raptoriel birds. Now comes a school of genus split- ters which is attempting to get the ornitho- logical public to accept generic refinements which provide us with the name Hierofalco mexicanus for the Prairie Falcon, Rhyncho- don peregrinus for the Duck Hawk, Tinnun.- culus columbarius for the Pigeon Hawk, and Cerchneis sparveria for the Sparrow Hawk. This is merely one instance in illustration of the tendency of the times in certain taxo- nomic circles. We have thought about the matter a great deal, and we have read the current literature relevant to these specific cases.. We hereby challenge somebody or anybody to advance adequate grounds, either profoundly scientific or utilitarian, in justi- fication of such ultra generic splitting! It is apparently the line of least resistance, when group relationships are in question, to subdivide, rather than unite; and hence the tendency. What we need is the higher plane of ornithological scholarship which will go at the expression of likenesses as well as differences between groups of spe- cies with a view to most exactly representing genetic relationships. Meanwhile, it seems to us that the general use of these questinn- able generic names had better be avoided, in the interests of uniformity and of clarity of understanding: Many accounts of the damage done to rice by ducks have recently appeared in the news- papers, but gross exaggeration is manifest in the majority of these. Furthermore, the attitude taken by many sportsmen in their attempts to vindicate the birds has done more harm than good. 'The real facts in the case are now before the United States Department of Agriculture, as a result of the investigation by Mr. Alexander Wetmore, he having spent two months the past autumn in the four counties of California which lie in the Sacramento Valley, where large quau- tries of rice are grown. Dr. H. C. Bryant. Game Expert for the California Fish and Game Commission, has also been on the ground. The reports of these two men have shown that ducks do destroy rice after it has matured and als0 after it has been cut and is in the shock. The duck responsible for the damage is the Pintail. Although the ducks will not drop down into a thick stand of rice, they will seek out thin rice or places where there is open water. From such places they work ont into the good rice, stripping the gra.ins from the head and doing serious damage. Bombs have proved to be aU eco- nomical me, ns of drivin ducks from rice elds. A few bombs properly handled will driv the btrd from a large area and the brds are so frightened that they rarely re- ,,rn to the same Place the following night. The rice grower who studies the situation and decides bat he will outwit the birds ned not suffer from depredations. The grower who says much and does little is the on who 1oes. most. The United States De- nartmnt of Agric]ture bas taken proper s+ens o .g've the rancher a fair chance to otect his crops. MILITARY SERVICE RECORD This list contains all the names which have come to the attention of THE CONDOR staff. The dates in parentheses indicate when the last word was received; in most cases this came direct from the one named or from a near relative. A few names with data have been taken from the last Auk, in which cases it is so noted. So far, no word has ceme of any casualty to a Cooper Club member. ANDFUSON, Ernest M., Private, Co. A, Royal Canadian Regiment, B.C. Special Ser-