8 



Bird Notes and News 



are destructive and which should be en- 

 couraged to breed, so that if children must 

 be taught to slaughter they should at least 

 slay with some degree of sense. But the 

 principal lesson, it seems to us, is that the 

 business of slaughter is no part of a child's 

 moral or intellectual education, and we 

 should know by now that if a human being 

 in a semi-cultured state, such as a child 

 must be, once embarks on the business of 

 killing, there is no knowng where the 

 blood-lust will lead him." — Times (Educa- 

 tional Supplement), January 24th, 1918. 



IN THE COURTS. 



Shooting Bitterns. — At Cambridge, on 

 February 16th, Henry Edward Jennings, 

 of Caml:)ridge, commercial traveller, was 

 convicted of shooting a Bittern, a scheduled 

 bird protected all the year by the County 

 Order. The Deputy Chief Constable said 

 that in consequence of a communication from 

 the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 

 he saw defendant, who admitted having shot 

 the bird in Over Fen, but said he had not the 

 faintest idea what it was when he killed it. 

 He wrote about it to a sporting paper and 

 had the bird set up. The taxidermist, called 

 as witness, said it was a bird of no economic 

 value but simply an interesting species which 

 was trying to re-establish itself. Fined 

 15s. — At Bomsey, on February 21st, William 

 S. Lockyer, of Lee Manor Farm, was con- 

 \dcted of shooting a Bittern on January 6th. 

 He said he saw it in a water-meadow and 

 shot it without knowing what it was. He 

 thought it was weak because it flew with 

 both legs behind. Fined 2s. 6d., allowed to 

 retain the bird for stuffing, and " warned " 

 to be more careful in future. (It is to be 

 hoped this nature-student will not come 

 across a Heron flying, as its wont also is, 

 with " both legs behind.") 



Cruelty to Decoys. — At Bentley, three 

 Belgians were fined 15s. each for cruelty 

 to StarHngs, used as decoys. The Police 

 Inspector stated that the severe weather 

 and the indiscriminate slaughter of birds 

 had seriously reduced their numbers, and 

 that Starlings did an incalculable amount 

 of good in destroying noxious grubs in old 

 grasslands that were being ploughed. 



Save the Food-crops. 



Save our Bird Allies. 



BIRDS, INSECTS & CROPS : 



A War-time Leaflet for all Growers 

 of the Nation's Food Supplies. 



Write for copies to the Secretary, Royal Society 

 for the Protection of Birds, 23, Queen Anne's Gate, 

 S.W. 1. 



Also published by the Society : "OUR ALLY 

 THE BIRD," Illustrated Leaflet, 9d. per dozen ; 

 " FARM, GARDEN, AND BIRDS " : How to 

 protect crops without destruction of Bird-life ; 

 price Sixpence. 



Save the Birds ! 

 Save the Food-Crops ! 



" The best Crop Protector is the 

 Insectivorous Bird." 



C. GeRDGN Hewitt, D.Sc. 



BIRD-ALLY 

 POSTCARDS 



QERIES of 12, each with quotation 

 as to value of Birds in Agricul- 

 ture, from Dr. Chalmers Mitchell, 

 Dr. Gordon Hewitt, Dr. Hornaday, 

 Sir Harry Johnston, Edward Newman, 

 M. Edmond Perrier, and others. 



Twelve Cards, assorted, 4 Jd. ; 3 packets, 1 /-, 

 post free; 100 Cards, 2/6. 



Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 



23, QUEEN ANNE'S GATE, S.W.I. 



Bird Notes and News (issued quarterly) will 

 be sent post free to any address for Is. per annum, 

 payable in advance ; single numbers, 3d. 



To Members of the Society subscribing os. and 

 upwards per annum it is forwarded gratis and post 

 free. 



Printed by Witherbv & Co., 326, High Holborn, W.C.I. , and 

 published by the Royal Socibtv for the Protection of Birds, 

 »3; Queen Anne's Gate, S.W.l. 



