Mr. R. T. Gunther, the well-known Oxford zoologist, has pub-
lished a Report on Agricultural Damage by Vermin and Birds in Norfolk and Oxfordshire in 2916 (H. Milford, 2s. 6d. not) which throws light on an old controversy. Mr. Gunther concludes that rats and sparrows should be exterminated, and that pigeons and rabbits should be kept down in the interests of agriculture. Rooks, starlings, and pheasants are "all friends of the fanner up to a cer- tain point, after which they become his enemies "—namely, when there is a scarcity of their favourite insects or caterpillars ; the starling should be given the benefit of the doubt. The pheasant " in moderation" does more good than harm ; but one pheasant per acre should be the maximum number kept. "The farmer's best friends are birds like the peewit which are wholly insect- ivorous." Mr. Gunther's mass of detailed evidence deserves careful study.
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