56 



JOURNAL OF THE WILD BIRD IWESTU lATlON' SOCIETY. 



ested in birds as living;- thinys. This fact was 

 vividly brought home to us recently by the state- 

 ment of a distinguished foreign ornithologist, 

 who writes : " It is surprising to me that in Great 

 Britain vou have so few real students of wild bird 

 life, of collectors, 1 know, \ou ha\c more than 

 enough. " 



This, unfortunately, is only tcjn true. Even the 

 utilitarian side is neglected, and yet there are few- 

 subjects in the field of natural science that bear 

 more intimately upon the prosperity and interests 

 of mankind. 



Economic Ornithology, as this branch of 

 science is termed, concerns itself with all aspects 

 and phases of wild bird life in relation to man- 

 kind. The food and feeding habits of the 

 different species as affecting agriculture, horticul- 

 ture, forestrx , and the fisheries; the outbreak and 

 control of insect |3lagues, and those of rats, voles, 

 mice, etc. The preservation of game and other 

 birds as a home-grown food supply. The pro- 

 tection or repression of wild birds and the meas- 

 ures to adopt for such purposes; the legislation 

 relating- to their preservation or destruction, and 

 the introduction of foreign species. The commer- 

 cial uses of birds, and also their aesthetic, senti- 

 i-i-iental, and educational value. 



It will thus be seen that the subject is an intri- 

 cate and difficult one. " Its successful prosecution 

 presupposes not only an accurate knoAvledge of 

 classification, distribution, migration and habits," 

 but also a wide biological training, especially in 

 entomology, botanv, and n-iarine zoologv, and 

 ■' an acquaintance with the measures which have 

 lieen adopted for the preservation of useful or 

 the destruction of noxious species.' 



Rightlv appreciated and assiduously prosecuted 

 the benefits it would confer upon the State are 

 almost illimitabk', one at least may appeal to the 

 utilitarian, viz., that it would annually save the 

 country the loss of nianx- millions of pounds ster- 

 ling worth of food. 



1 here is no dcnving ihc fact that as a nation 

 we have neglected the study of this important 

 branch of biological science, and that in conse- 

 quence our countrx- is distinctlv poorer. 



The subject is one that for nianv vears to come 

 requires the patient enthusiasm of the experi- 

 enced investigator, indeed our present knowledge 



'Palmer, T. S. Yearbook U.S. Tlepl. .4gric., 1S99. p. 259. 



is so meagre that research must be the dominant 

 principle. In a sense this is unfortunate, lor as 

 a nation we have failed very largeK to stimulate, 

 encourage, or provide for original research. Sir 

 Oliver Lodge has recently told us,' "for State 

 discourag-ement of pure research, both active and 

 passive, the organisation in this countrv must be 

 diHicull to beat." 



.So long- ago as iSyi, Earl Cathcart- referred 

 to economic ornithology as " an untrodden and 

 promising- field that lies ojaen for investigation," 

 and so recently as 1908 a writer in one of our 

 leading scientific journals stated ; "In the matter 

 of economic ornithology we in Eng-land are dis- 

 gracefully behind the times; the Board of .Agri- 

 culture seeminglv prefers to leave this matter to 

 private enterprise, or to deal with the matter in 

 such a perfunctorv nianner as to be positively 

 ridiculous, making us the laughing-^lock of the 

 nations. " ' 



lo-dav its posilliin is just as de])lorable, but 

 it is absurd to throw the blame on the Board of 

 .Vgriculture. The Government has made no pro- 

 vision, either as regards finances or personnel, 

 to remedy this condition of affairs. .Amongst the 

 overcrowded staffs and numerous .State officials 

 of the present day, we fail to fintl any State Eco- 

 nomic Ornithologist. It is patent that the State 

 neither understands or appreciates the import of 

 ihe subject or its irue relation to the country, 

 and yet in practicalK every civilised countrv its 

 importance has long; been recognised. 



W'heri one considers the trulv magnificent work 

 an-omplished by the United .States Division of 

 Biological .Survev, as set forth in upwards of 160 

 memoirs, bulletins, etc., beautifuriy illustrated, 

 issued since 1 885, on an annual appropriation of 

 sonuiliing less than ;£,'5,ooo, we are bound to 

 question whether the nation is getting value for 

 ils nionev in the grants made bv the Development 

 CninmiNsicners, .-md whether a similar sun-i to 

 ihal ixpt'nded b\ the L'nited .States g'overnment 

 would not be niore wiselv spent, and with in- 

 linlulv greater and more beneficial results than 

 ac<rut- from many of the g-rants made at present. 

 Economic ornlthologv in the United States to-day 

 stands as a branch of zoological science equal to 

 anv oilier, if not surpassing some, unt] I he slan- 



' The NinelL-eiUli CciUury, 1918. July. p. S9. 

 'Tlie Times, .May I6tli, 1891. 

 V\iin ami .Ma.i;, .\at. Hist.. 190.S (s. \iii.), vol. 2. p. 1.32. 



