80 



Bird Notes and News 



Tits were busy with it, going in and out, 

 and we find it most interesting," is a sample 

 of many comments of purchasers. Diffi- 

 culties have, however, strewn the way of the 

 firms undertaking the work. Chief among 

 them has been the dire shortage of wood, 

 on account of the requirements of the War 

 Office. The exact diameters required for 

 the " Tree-hole " Boxes appeared to be 

 precisely those needed for military purposes ; 

 and as these Boxes are bored in the actual 

 trunk or branch in exact imitation of the 

 bird's holes, it is impossible to construct 

 them of odds and ends. Then the special 

 machinery was hard to get, and tools equally 

 so, because of the dearth of workmen and 

 the holding up of goods on the railway ; 

 and, finally, transit was made irregular, 

 expensive, and complicated by the dis- 

 location of all goods-train service and the 

 temporary cessation of collection of goods 

 by the usual carriers. But all these troubles 

 are merely side-products of the War. When 

 the War is over another industry will have 

 been added to British production, and 

 Nesting-boxes will be among the thousand 

 and one things for which German makers 

 will never again pocket British money. 

 * * * 



The necessity for more home -growing of 

 timber emphasizes the importance of 

 entomology and ornithology as handmaids 

 to forestry. The value of Tits in fighting 

 larch disease .(larch sawfly) is now well 

 known. Mr. Osmaston, Adviser in Forestry, 

 Oxford, writing in the Board of Agriculture 

 Journal for March, 1915, expresses his 

 belief that the Green Woodpecker " will 

 prove our strongest and most effective 

 ally in the suppression and extermination 

 of the longicorn beetle " which attacks 

 feeble larches. "As so much of our larch 



crop is sickly and diseased, it is of importance 



that this insect should not be allowed to 



spread its ravages unchecked " ; and the 



attack may usually be first recognised by 



the excavations of the Woodpecker in its 



systematic search for the larvae. 

 * * * 



The Justices of the County of Meath 



decided on February 10th, on the motion 



of Judge Drummond, K.C., seconded by 



Lord Langford, to petition the Lord 



Lieutenant for further protection for certain 



of the birds of the county, laying special 



stress on the decrease of the Skylark and 



Goldfinch. Judge Drummond observed that 



the idea of such birds being exterminated 



was intolerable. It was stated that large 



quantities of Goldfinches were caught by 



birdcatchers from Dublin and shipped to 



England in small cages, half the number 



perishing on the way. The Irish Times well 



comments (February 11th) : — 



" We should like to see this trade in song 

 birds stopped altogether. It involves a 

 considerable amount of cruelty, and benefits 

 nobody, except in so far as it puts a little 

 i loney into the pockets of dealers and 

 fanciers. The taste for listening to the 

 singing of wild birds in captivity and 

 teaching them artificial notes is not, in our 

 opinion, one that should be encouraged. 

 Even dwellers in the city can hear much more 

 beautiful and joyous songs from those birds 

 which still retain their liberty in parks and 

 squares. As for the country, we do not care 

 to think of the difference which would be 

 felt were the Goldfinch and, still more, the 

 Skylark to be exterminated. The thing 

 would be an outrage." 



Worcestershire still remains a happy 



hunting-ground of the Goldfinch-catcher, 



in spite of protest after protest from this 



Society. And caged Larks and Linnets in 



English shops and English slums continue 



to rouse the indignant pity of the thoughtful 



observer 



