BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



an important factory and sugar-refinery at Rupiceni, 

 in Roumania, a country whose soil yields beet-root 

 of a saccharine richness unknown in France. The 

 prosperity of the business was ever increasing, until 

 there appeared a veritable plague which threatened 

 to put an end to the culture of beet in that region, 

 and, in consequence, the total ruin of the industry 

 in which some millions of capital were invested. An 

 insect ravaged the plantations, and an appeal was 

 made to my knowledge as a naturalist to determine 

 the species, and to indicate, if possible, an effectual 

 means of combatting it. The manager had already 

 applied to well-known naturalists in Germany, 

 especially Berlin, and had tried several methods 

 of destruction that were very expensive, and almost 

 impossible to put in practice over an extent of 

 more than a thousand hectares. That which gave 

 the best results was to roll the plantations, crushing 

 the caterpillars, but this destroyed a great part of 

 the plants at the same time. 



"The description of the moth given me was 

 enough to show that it was the Plusia gamma, 

 known already to have destroyed in certain parts 

 of France entire fields of beet. I suggested two 



methods to prevent the increase of the insect — 

 dragging nets on the soil at the moment of the 

 escape of the moth, and sprinkling the infected 

 plants with soapsuds mixed with petrol. But how 

 difficult to do this on such a stretch of land, and 

 how expensive ! All then seemed to fail, when one 

 fine day, just when the plague had reached its 

 height, there appeared on the scene swarms — - 

 ' clouds,' to use the word of my correspondent — of 

 Rooks, who dropped down on the plains and set 

 themselves to devo\ir the caterpillars, under whose 

 mandibles the plants were disappearing, so to speak, 

 from hour to hour, threatening soon to leave the 

 earth completely bare. For eight hours they pur- 

 sued their beneficent work, and when at the end of 

 that time they disappeared whence they had come, 

 to the steppes of Russia, it would have been 

 difficult to find a single caterpillar surviving. 



" Thus, when man had been once more defeated 

 by an insignificant insect, the Rook saved the 

 situation at its most desperate need, and the words 

 of Michelet were justified : 'The bird can live with- 

 out man, man cannot live without the bird.' " 



^sr Bird Protection Orders. ucr 



The following County Council Orders have 

 been issued since March 15th, 1909 : 



Cheshire. March 13th. A (6), A (e), 

 BCEF. This Order is identical with the 

 previous one, except that in the prescribed 

 area within the Hundred of Wirral. in which 

 all birds and eggs are protected, such pro- 

 tection is not to apply to market-garden 

 lands. 



Somersetshire. March 22nd. A (b), 

 A (e), B C F. Renews the Order of 1904 for 

 five years. 



Isle of Wight. April 6th. A (e) B C D 

 E F S. No change. Renews the protection 

 of eggs on the Red Cliff, Culver Cliff, and the 

 cliffs in the parishes of Freshwater and 

 Totland for 5 years. 



Norwich. April 6th. B C E F S. Adds 

 to the list of birds protected all the year, the 

 Bearded Tit, Goldfinch, Kingfisher, and 

 Owls. 



Anglesey. March 15th. C E F. Extends 

 close time for all birds in the Schedule to 

 October 1st. (By the previous Order it was 

 extended for all but certain named species). 

 Protects the Goldfinch all the year, and the 

 eggs of Goldfinch and (after April 15th) 

 Lapwing. 



Carmarthen, March 20th. BEF. Adds 

 Golden Eagle to the list of birds fully pro- 

 tected. 



Dundee. April 2nd. E F. The first 

 Order for the '' County of a City " in 

 Scotland. Prohibits the taking or killing of 

 any wild bird throughout the year ; prohibits 

 the taking or destroying of the eggs of any 

 ^ild bird. 



Kerry. March 23rd. E. Protects the 

 eggs of the following species : Golden Eagle, 

 Sea Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Kestrel, 

 Harriers (all species), Raven, Kingfisher, 

 Owls (all species), Siskin, Goldfinch, Terns 

 (all species), Petrel (all species), Woodcock, 

 Snipe, Hoopoe, Phalaropes (all species), 

 between May 1 and August 1st, in 1909, and 

 between March 1st and August 1st in the 

 four following years. 



Waterford. March 20th. E. Protects 

 the eggs of the following species for the same 

 period as above : Golden Eagle, White-tailed 

 Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Kestrel, 

 Harriers (all species), Owls (all species), 

 Goldfinch, Crossbill, Siskin, Chough, Raven, 

 Kingfisher, Nightjar, Turtledove, Heron, 

 Woodcock, Water-rail, Sheldrake, Shoveller, 

 Teal, Black Guillemot, Great Black-backed 

 Gull, Tufted Duck, 



