Bird Notes and News 



39 



utility or harmfulness, and with mention 

 of those which present mixed charac- 

 teristics according to the season or dis- 

 trict." In England it is not so much a 

 Commission of the kind that is needed, 

 as the stores of trustworthy- first-hand 

 information which would make its reports 

 valuable. The French Commission will 

 probably have a like difficulty in deciding 

 vexed questions. Previous to its appoint- 

 ment, M. Zavier Raspail, now one of 

 its Members, published a pamphlet on 

 the subject, which has evoked dissent 

 from another accomphshed ornithologist, 

 M. Pierre- Amedee Pichot. Why, asks 

 M. Pichot, should he class the Hobby as 



destructive and the Kestrel as useful 

 when both are equally destroyers of 

 insects ? Why condemn the Vulture, 

 which does not attack Uving animals ? 

 Nor can he agree in the condemnation 

 of the Brown Owl ; nor in the assertion 

 that Shrikes commit great destruction 

 among small birds. Only a long series 

 of observations and investigations can 

 give authoritative decisions ; and they 

 will not be final ones. Possibly it might 

 be wiser if the French Ministry were to 

 enforce the Bird Protection law first, and 

 decide as to the bird saints and sinners 

 afterwards, lest neither saints nor sinners 

 remain to adjudicate upon. 



U 



Larks." 



Infltjential members of the R.S.P.B. might 

 do much to advance the cause by writing 

 letters of protest when firms with whom 

 they deal advertise wares objectionable from 

 the bird -lovers' point of view. Bird-lime 

 and certain traps were removed from the 

 catalogue of one of the biggest Stores in 

 consequence of the action of a large share- 

 holder. Those who have shares in drapery 

 companies might well object to the per- 

 petual pushing of "ospreys" and other 

 plumes which goes on in advertisements. 

 A Fellow of the Society permits the publi- 

 cation of the following protest addressed to a 

 leading firm of Itahan Warehousemen : — 



" I am presuming on the fact that I have 

 been on your books for a considerable time, 

 to make a suggestion concerning an entry 

 in the price-list you have been good enough 

 to send me. The entry is a very short one 

 — ^Larks. 



" If you could see j'our way to stop the 

 sale of these birds you would be doing much 

 to discourage a form of cruelty which is 

 deplorable. The birds are being killed in 

 thousands, and siuely the pleasure they give 

 to all who live in the country and are bird 

 or country lovers, deserves a better fate 

 for them. It would be perhaps unreasonable 

 to put this forward in their behalf if they 

 could be seriously considered as an article 

 of diet, but the infinitesimal fragment of 

 food i-hat a lark provides cannot be looked on 

 as worth any consideration. Please think 

 the matter over and see if you carmot do 

 your part towards the discouragement of a 

 practice that is regretted by thousands."' 



In reply the manager wrote : — 



" I think I may venture to promise that 

 we will eliminate the word from our next 

 price-list. I feel sure you will be gratified 

 to learn that our sale for the article is 

 steadily decreasing. , . . You may rest 

 assured that in the future we will do nothing 

 to stimulate the demand but will do all we 

 can to discourage same." 



Revised Bird Protection Orders have been 

 issued for Kent and for Westmeath ; and 

 Orders have been obtained for the Coimty 

 Boroughs of Northampton, Rochdale, Tjme- 



mouth, and Walsall. The Order for any 

 Coimty or County Borough, with smnmary 

 of the Acts, can be had from the R.S.P.B., 

 price twopence. 



