X Preface. 



A i^reat store of interestino- knowledsfe inav be 

 gained without collecting a single bird's q^^, nest, or 

 skin, and I hope that every reader of this book will 

 do all in his or her power to promote kindness to 

 birds and prevent them from being robbed of their 

 little treasures in the spring-time. 



I am very s )rry to say that i\iany country l)oys 

 are guilty of thoughtlessly smashing birds' eggs, and 

 some even of the unspeakable cruelty of killing little 

 baby chicks, and barring up with stones mother birds 

 brooding in holes in trees and banks, and leaving 

 them to starve to death. Such conduct is a dis- 

 grace to any British boy, whether he be the son of 

 prince or peasant, and one would like to ask those 

 wlio do such things what they would think of a 

 fdant who treated them in a similar manner. Not 

 long ago a gentleman in Sutiblk came upon a boy 

 beating a sniall brown object in the middle of a 

 turnpike lane with a stick, and exclaiming after 

 each blow, '111 lavn you for being a toad 1 " He 

 taught that lad a lesson by applying his stick 

 vigorously to his back, and exclaiming at each 

 stroke, " I'll larn you for being a boy ! " 



Let us not forget that the weakest living thing 



on the face of the earth has its rights, and that it is 



both wicked and cowardly of us to abuse our 



superiority of mind or body over inoffensive members 



of the brute creation. 



R. K. 



Caterham Valley, Surrey. 

 October, 1900. 



