116 Mr. J. Buckland on 



On other islands he found that the immense colonies of birds 

 which hitherto had bred there had been wiped absolutely 

 out of existence. 



Last year a gang of plumage pirates were surprised in 

 their dastardly work on Laysan Island, which is in the same 

 region, and which is famous for its rich deposits of guano. 

 These miscreants had already clubbed to death on their 

 nests, or when feeding their young, 259,000 Albatrosses. 



Albatrosses lay but one egg, and as they can be killed 

 with profit to the feather-dealer only when massed on their 

 breeding-grounds, their destruction, at this appalling rate, 

 must inevitably mean the loss to the United IStates of its 

 guano suj)ply. 



It is my opinion, though the British Government is not 

 in agreement with me on this question, that every agent 

 that conserves the natural resources of the present millions, 

 as well as the heritage of unborn millions, should be given 

 every measure of protection. 



Usefulness of the Bird to Man as Food. 



So far I have considered only the good offices the bird 

 voluntarily takes on itself in the service of man. 



1 will now proceed to show how invaluable the bird is to 

 man, under certain conditions, as a food-supj)ly. The flesh- 

 pots of the world have been already acquired, and man is 

 now reaching out for less favoured regions u])on which to 

 domicile his increasing millions. This action of his produces 

 the pioneer, who must, for the most part, live on the wild 

 l)roducts of forest, mead, river, lake, and sea. Now let us 

 consider how a scarcity of birds will allect these hardy 

 forerunners of civilisation who drive tlic pl()ii;;li in tli(.' trail 

 of the axe. The sore straits to which they will i)c put will 

 1)0 best understood, perhajis, by vi(!wing the results of the 

 slaughter of the Duck in North America. Not morn than 

 fifty years ago the numljcr of these birds in that country 

 was beyond conn)utation. But man could not slay them 

 fast enough to glut his blood-lust. Sportsmen, professional 



