Bird Notes and News 



47 



wild flowers are too " common " to be prized, 

 and the pestilential theory that smashing 

 of nests and purloining of eggs makes a boy 

 a " naturalist." 



CHILDREN AND CAGED BIRDS. 



A schoolmaster in the west of England is 

 very angry with the R.S.P.B. He is also 

 local secretary for the Cage Birds League, 

 and in his double capacity made an offer 

 to the borough schools of prizes for essays 

 on " feathered pets." The Secretary of the 

 R.S.P.B. wrote to the local papers to point 

 out that this League " was started in order 

 to promote the caging of birds and to fight 

 those indviduals and societies who are 

 €ndeavo\u"ing (by means of Bands of Mercy, 

 Bird and Tree Competitions, etc.) to bring 

 about a better imderstanding of birdlife 

 and to check the business of birdcatching 

 and birdcaging." In the League's own 

 words, it aims at protecting the trade against 

 " moneyed faddists and sentimentaHsts." 

 Surprise might naturally be expressed (the 



letter suggested) that " a public educational 

 body should take the retrograde step of sup- 

 porting the proposals of a League which 

 exists for the purpose of increasing trade in 

 caged birds, by encouraging and rewarding 

 children who keep birds in captivity." The 

 organ of the League objects that it was 

 started not to promote bird-caging, but to 

 band bird-keepers together in defence of 

 their hobby ; that it too is anxious to 

 promote " a better understanding of bird- 

 life," and that its opponents, could they 

 be Avith a party of the members on their 

 spring ramble among birds " would probably 

 be astonished at the knowledge of wild life 

 possessed." The advertisement pages of the 

 organ certainly offer many helps towards 

 obtaining understanding of a sort. " Catch 

 your own " ; " Bird-nets, all complete ; 

 hints on catching " ; " Self-acting traps, 

 take any kind of bird without attention " ; 

 " Bird-lime, hold any bird, Rook or Wren " ; 

 " Call cages " ; " Best made trap obtainable, 

 caught over thirty in two hours " ; and so 

 on. A complete gmde to " knowledge " ! 



IN THE COURTS. 



The Young " Collector." — At Chelten- 

 ham, on Jime 20th, Francis Bird, a pupil of 

 Cheltenham College, was fined 19s. and 6s. 

 costs for taking 37 Sand-Martin's eggs at 

 Charlton Bangs. For the defence it was 

 urged that he was quite unaware he was 

 doing wrong. (What are the authorities of 

 the College about ?) 



Taking Sea-birds' Eggs. — A.t Dover, on 

 June 19th, William Bishop and Douglas 

 Fishenden were fined 15s. each for taking 

 13 Sea-Gulls' eggs at St. Margarets. The 

 Chairman observed that people buying the 

 eggs were also liable to a heavy penalty. 



The Bird-catcher. — At Norwood, on 

 August 28th, Thomas Winn was summoned 



for using nets for taking birds, for having 

 a Robin, a Redstart, a Linnet, and 11 

 Sparrows in his possession, and for cruelty 

 to decoy Sparrows, at Sydenham. He 

 denied the cruelty, and said the decoys had 

 lasted well, as he had had them a week. 

 Fined 20s. for cruelty, and 2s. costs, and 

 3s. on the other charges ; the nets to be 

 destroyed, and the birds released. — At Rei- 

 gate, George Bushell, of Chaldon Common, 

 was fined Is. and 5s. costs for having a Linnet 

 in his possession. He was found behind 

 some bushes, watching a pond, around which 

 the grass was coated with bird-lime to catch 

 birds as they came to drink. There were 

 five or six dead birds and a hve Linnet with 

 its feet covered with lime. — At Rushall, on 

 September 2nd, four men were convicted 

 for using nets and decoy birds. They had 



