1883.] UTILITY OP BIRDS IN AGRICULTURE. 103 



scientific purposes, as claimed. You are probably not aware 

 of the large number of scientific bird-shooters and egg-hunters 

 that are licensed in Massachusetts ; but when you go along 

 the street and see the eggs exposed for sale that have been 

 prepared for decorative purposes, you begin to think that 

 there is considerable business scientifically carried on in egg 

 hunting. Therefore I think the legislature of Massachusetts 

 liave empowered a body of town officers to undo the work 

 which they very well did with reference to protecting the 

 birds that are useful to agriculturists and to farmers generally. 

 I think that part of the law should be repealed, because it 

 gives a license to a few to shoot birds and rob their nests, as 

 the law in some of our States (I don't know how it is in 

 Connecticut,) licenses a few to sell rum and whisky, while the 

 majority are debarred from doing so. I think that licenses 

 to do a wrong act are hardly tolerable. 



I will say, now that I am up, that I have been exceedingly 

 interested in the discussion of this subject that has been pre- 

 sented to us this evening by Prof. Stearns, and I think that 

 he has spoken very temperately with reference to it. I think 

 he could have made his claim for birds a good deal stronger. 

 I believe that the king-bird, to which he has referred, be- 

 longs to the fly-catching tribe, does it not ? 



Prof. Stearns. Yes, sir, it is at the head of fly-catching 

 birds. 



Mr. Wetherell. It is a bird that feeds mostly on the 

 wing, like the swallows. Therefore I trust there will be an 

 interest aroused among the farmers of Connecticut, through 

 this paper, to protect the useful birds. It is said that in 

 many localities in Massachusetts, — and I presume the same 

 is true in Connecticut, — that the birds seem to be diminish- 

 ing. I think that the shooting of birds has had a great deal 

 to do with it, and I wish that this destruction of useful birds 

 might be stayed. 



Mr. Augur. I would like to ask Prof. Stearns one ques- 

 tion in regard to the robin. We find that the robin is very 

 destructive to fruit, particularly the strawberry and the cher- 



