/iS State Horticultural Society. 



in ir..'i'i\- parts. But luirope never did liave so much ti) lose as we have. 

 Europe never had such beautiAil birds as we have. Europe had nothing 

 which can compare with our Meadow l>ark, FHcker, Red Headed Wood- 

 pecker, Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker, Scarlet and Summer Tanagers, Cardi- 

 nal, Indigo Bird, Red-winged Blackbird, with our many beautiful Warb- 

 lers, our Orioles. Yes, it has an Oriole, a nice, golden-yellow bird with 

 black wings, but it is so rare that not one in ten thousand Europeans has 

 ever laid an eye on it ; it is so shy that it seldom leaves the deep woods 

 where it frequents the densest tree tops. 



The European Woodpeckers cannot compare with our Woodpeckers 

 at all ; they are a comparatively plain looking set ; they have nothing 

 which can come up to our gaudy colored Redheads or our Golden-winged 

 Flicker; and the few kinds of woodpeckers they have are now so scarce 

 and so shy that one may wander through rural districts and deep woods 

 for days without meeting more than a single one. Europe had once a 

 few brightly colored birds ; a Kingfisher with dress like our Blue Bird, 

 a bright azure back and rich chestnut breast ; it used to be an ornament 

 to all streams some fifty years ago. On my last visit to Germany two 

 summers ago I did not see a single one. Those who lived in southern 

 Germany fifty years ago will remember how closely the call of the Quail 

 is connected with their walks through the field ; from right and left the 

 lively "sexparweck" came to the ear from near and far ; now the Quail is 

 almost a thing of the past ; in all my wandering through the fields two 

 years ago I did not hear a single one, and my brother who lives in the 

 country and passes daily through fields where Quails used to be plentiful 

 said that he had not heard one for several years. 



Magpies and Jay Birds, the latter not nearly so beautiful as our 

 Bluejay, but still a handsome bird, were formerly of common occurrence 

 throughout all rural districts ; where are they now ? One has to keep a 

 sharp lookout for days to detect a single one and has to use a field glass 

 to observe it, so shy and retiring have they become in consequence of con- 

 tmued persecution. 



Shall it come to this here? It will certainly come to it, if we do not 

 take steps to keep them from a similar fate, with the only difference that 

 we will lose so much more than the Europeans because our birds are 

 indescribably more beautiful than theirs. 



To take steps toward prevention we must analyze the causes for 

 their disappearance. The gun, it cannot be denied, plays sad havoc with 

 all the larger birds, including some of the so-called game birds, and 

 those whose fine feathers are serviceable for the adornment of our women, 

 ".'"he game laws try to preserve the game birds, and the Audubon societies 



