Ardeidae.—­Ardeineae (herons). 
          Botaurineae (bitterns). 
          Scopineae (ombrette). 
          Cancomineae (boatbill). 
          Balaenicepineae (whale-headed stork).

All the whale-headed storks that have been received up to the present have come from the region of the White Nile; but Mr. H. Johnston, who traveled in Congo in 1882, asserts that he met with the bird on the River Cunene between Benguela and Angola, where it was even very common.  Mr. Johnston’s assertion has been confirmed by other travelers worthy of credence, but, unfortunately, the best of all confirmations is wanting, and that is a skin of this magnificent wader.  We can, therefore, only make a note of Mr. Johnston’s statement, and hope that some traveler may one day enrich our museums with some balaeniceps from these regions.  The presence of this bird in the southwest of Africa is, after all, not impossible; yet there is one question that arises:  Was the balaeniceps observed by Mr. Johnston of the same species as that of the White Nile, or was it a new type that will increase this family, which as yet comprises but one genus and one species—­the Balaeniceps rex?—­Le Naturaliste.

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THE CALIFORNIA RAISIN INDUSTRY.

Fresno County, for ten miles about Fresno, furnishes the best example of the enormous increase in values which follows the conversion of wheat fields and grazing land into vineyards and orchards.  Not even Riverside can compare with it in the rapid evolution of a great source of wealth which ten years ago was almost unknown.  What has transformed Fresno from a shambling, dirty resort of cowboys and wheat ranchers into one of the prettiest cities in California is the raisin grape.  Though nearly all fruits may be grown here, yet this is pre-eminently the home of the raisin industry, and it is the raisin which in a single decade has converted 50,000 acres of wheat fields into vineyards.  No other crop in California promises such speedy returns or such large profits as the raisin grape, and as the work on the vineyards is not heavy, the result has been a remarkable growth of the infant industry.  It is estimated that in this county, which contains 5,000,000 acres and is nearly as large as Massachusetts, there are 400,000 acres that may be irrigated and are specially adapted to the grape.  As the present crop on about 25,000 acres in full bearing is valued at $6,000,000, some idea may be formed of the revenue that will come to the Fresno vineyardists when all this choice valley land is planted and in full bearing.  And what makes the prospect of permanent prosperity surer is the fact that nine out of ten new settlers are content with twenty-acre tracts, as one of these is all which a man can well care for, while the income from this little vineyard will average $4,000 above all expenses, a larger income than is enjoyed by three-quarters of the professional men throughout the country.