424 



Bird - Lore 



equally wideawake, and field-excursions 

 are recorded as enjoyed once a week from 

 May I to October 30. Connecticut has 

 several other bird clubs of similar char- 

 acter and activity, and all are exerting a 

 fruitful influence. 



A Proper Commission 



The report of the Commissioners of 

 Birds of Rhode Island for 1914 is just at 

 hand. It is noteworthy as the first result 

 of the change by which men who really 

 knew and cared for birds were placed on 

 the Rhode Island Commission. This 

 admirable change is owing to the growth 

 of a better public sentiment, for which 

 credit is largely due, say the Commis- 

 sioners, to Audubon Society influences. 

 A noticeable increase in birds in Rhode 

 Island is reported, especially shore-birds 

 and Ducks, which may no longer be shot 

 from motor-boats. Several sensible new 

 laws for bird-protection have been enacted 

 recently, and no less than 104 deputy 

 game-wardens were in service. Warwick 

 Neck has been set apart as a state bird- 

 reservation; and the area of posted land 

 has been much increased. 



Italian Atrocities 



That two Italians recently confessed in 

 court to have boiled alive and then eaten 

 young Robins and Flickers which they 

 had taken from their nests, is the report 

 made to this office by Division Chief 

 (iame Protector, C. A. Johnson, of Hoosick 

 Falls, New York. Mr. Johnson, who con- 

 ducted the prosecution, states that, as 

 they were unable to pay their fines, the 

 two men were sent to jail for fifty days. 

 He says that in his long career in fish and 

 game matters he had never heard of 

 such uncivilized slaughter of song- 

 birds. He says that the dish is evidently 

 a favorite one with the Italians in out- 

 of-the-way places, and that he had been 

 told it is a real luxury. The birds are not 

 even dressed or cleaned before cooking, 

 except that the feathers are pulled ofi^. 



Game Warden Nolan of Milton, New 

 York, arrested two Italians at Stoneco, 

 on Sunday, September 5, for shooting 

 song-birds. They had a gun wrapped in a 

 newspaper. When caught, they threw a 

 package into the river. Placing the two 

 men in the custody of the station-agent 

 at Camelot, the warden recovered the 

 package, and found several Robins, as 

 well as other song-birds. Justice Holmes 

 Vanderwater, of Wappingers Falls, fined 

 the men $105. They were unable to pay, 

 and were sent to the county jail in Pough- 

 keepsie. 



These are but two of the many atroci- 

 ties committed on our bird-popula- 

 tion by Italian laborers, reports of which 

 reach this office with discouraging fre- 

 quency. No unnaturalized Italian should 

 ever be permitted to carry a gun, and 

 every one should be severely punished 

 when found doing so. 



The Nine-Headed Commission 



The first paragraph of Article VI of the 

 proposed new Constitution for New York 

 State, which the voters will shortly be 

 called upon to adopt or reject, provides 

 for a nine-headed conservation commis- 

 sion. 



At the present time, the laws of New 

 York provide for one paid commissioner. 

 The wonderful work performed today by 

 Commissioner George D. Pratt, and the 

 monumental results accomplished by one 

 of his predecessors, the Hon. James S. 

 Whipple, have served to prove to the 

 absolute satisfaction of the National 

 Association of Audubon Societies, and to 

 all New York sportsmen's organizations 

 with whose views we are acquainted, that 

 a single-headed commission is the wisest 

 possible course for this state to pursue. 

 With nine unpaid men to divide and shift 

 responsibihty, we have grave fears that 

 conservation in New York State will suffer 

 if this new provision is accepted. "What's 

 everybody's business is nobody's busi- 

 ness," may prove to be a very true 

 declaration. 



