BIRDS AND FORESTS 



with shot or a lead pellet in his heart, murdered for 

 no worthier purpose than that his plumage may put 

 a few pence into some human brute's pocket, and 

 ultimately adorn a woman's hat. 



What of the widowed mate and the orphan 

 children ? She, as a general rule, dies of a broken 

 heart, and the babies perish miserably of starvation 

 and cold. 



Aye ! truly through lack of the right kind of 

 knowledge we do the most diabolically cruel things. 

 Ignorance and cruelty go hand in hand surely. People, 

 as a general rule, are not by nature cruel — it is ignor- 

 ance, superstition, and erroneous beliefs which make 

 them so. 



In 1905 the larch plantations on estates surround- 

 ing Bassenthwaite Lake were seriously affected by the 

 pest known as the large larch saw-fly. On one estate 

 alone several thousand trees were destroyed. In 1907 

 a severe outbreak of the disease was observed on the 

 Thirlmere plantation of the Manchester Corporation. 

 It was pointed out that various species of birds destroy 

 this pest, and accordingly 60 nesting boxes were hung 

 in the trees as an experiment. Another 114 boxes 

 were added in the following year, and 105 more in 

 1909. The numbers of tits, robins, and starlings 

 increased considerably, and their young were diligently 

 fed on the larvae of the saw-fly and long-horned beetle. 

 The lower slopes of Helvellyn and the hill-sides on 

 the opposite side of the lake, which a few years before 

 were bleak and barren, were soon covered with young 

 forest trees which resounded with the songs of birds. 

 vol. 1. 97 7 



