106 THE CONDOR VOL. XI th? camp thus furnishing a healthful vacation recreation full of the intensest of a boy's pleasures. CORRESPONDENCE Editor THE CoNDoR:-- Will you permit me to lay aside, for the time being, any connection with THE CONDOR it may be my privilege to claim, and to address you simply as a Cooper Club member and reader of this magazine. Owing tO the fact that something over a page of valuable space in the last nnmber of THE CONDOR was devoted to criticism of my state- meritS, and that at least a part of it was not based upon facts, I feel that in justice to myself it is necessary to answer these strictures, much as I dislike to burden yourself and CONDOR readers with a useless argument. Judge Henderson begins by calling attention to "several erroneous citations" which, when boiled down, are found to number just three, in one of which Judge Henderson is entirely at fault, and in the remaining two his criticism is so far fetched as to be purely a matter of personal opinion. He follows this with an out- line of "The Early Western Surveys," with which most of us became familiar about the time we were learning how to use an identifi- cation key. Now I do not intend to enter into a discus- sion of the merits of Henderson's criticism, because it is not of sufficient importance. I wish, however, to quote my authorit), for my use of the phrases "a United States Geological Survey bulletin ' 'and "United States Geological Survey reports", using a small "b" and "r" in "bulletin" and "report" respectively. In W. W. Cooke's "Birds of Colorado," State Agri- cultnral College, Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion, Bulletin No. 37, page 27, will be found my authority for the first phrase; and on page 31 will be found my authority for the second phrase. At the time I used these phrases I considered them accurate enough for the use to which l r put them. Since that time I have not changed my mind, and under date of April 8, 1909, Prof. Cooke himself writes me that he is of the same opinion. Had Judge Henderson taken the trouble to look up the date of the first publication of Ridway's "Maxwell's Colorado Museum" in- stead of guessing at it, he would have saved himself from making the very error that he accuses me of making. Notwithstanding his statement to the contrary, this list was first publisht in 1877 in "Field and Forest," and my authority for this statement will be found in Cooke's "Birds of Colorado" on page 45, which is corroborated by Prof. Cooke in his letter of April 8th mentioned above. Only one objection can be made to Prof. Felger's statements and that is that the facts are not as he has stated them. The Rocky Mountain Pine Grosbeak record is not Prof. Felger's record any more than it is mine, and his statement that the bird was taken by him and subsequently shown to me is also incorrect. As a matter of fact, at the time the record in question was made Prof. Felger was my guest and he was with me at the time the bird was taken. Whether he or I happened to kill the bird does not affect the ownership of the record in the least. His statement that the bird was taken July 8th instead of July 3rd, as stated in my Mesa County List, carries very little weight in the absence of proof. My notes are plain on this particular point, and I shall require more than Felger's unsupported statement to the contrary to induce me to recognize his alleged correction. Even admitting that he is correct, for the sake of argument, the spirit which prompted the publication of such a cor- rection is too apparent to call for any remarks. Now, in conclusion, I wish to state that I at all times welcome criticism and corrections of my work, when it is offered in a friendly spirit and is sincere, and I am continually asking for criticism and advice from those Ornithological friends whom I consider competent to criticize, but when one or more persons resort to the columns of a standard magazine as a means of discrediting me before its readers, for the satis- faction of a personal grudge, I feel that it is my privilege and my duty to myself to answer snch attacks. Very truly yours, ROBT. B. ROCKWELL, PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED The THIRD EDITION of BAILEY'S 'HAND- BOOK OF BIRDS O1' THE WESTERN UNITED 8TATES' ? appeared early in the year and attests to the popularity of the work. It remains our only good local text-book of birds, and we hope that further editions will be warranted in the not distant futnre. The third edition of the "Handbook" pre- sents no decided alterations as compared with the first and second. However, all errors dis- covered have been corrected, many of the pho- tographs of bird-skins have been replaced with drawings, and the forms of Astragalinus have been revised in the text to accord with the late rulings of the A. O. U. Committee.--J. G. BIRDS AND MAMMALS 01? THE 1907 ALEXAN- DER EXPEDITION TO SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA. By JOSEPH GRINNELL, EDMUND HELLER, FRANK STEPHENS, and JOSEPH DIXON. Univ. Houghton Mifflin Corapany. Boston; $3.50.
