284 



THE NATURALIST. 



insect ravages." Mr. Dixon next 

 referred to the result of certain 

 inquiries in France as to the great 

 injuries which had been done to 

 agricultural produce in France by 

 insects, and the steps which had 

 been taken for the encouragement 

 of small birds for the prevention of 

 such insect devastation. He also 

 quoted the opinion of Mr. Walter, 

 M.P., and several other persons in 

 favour of the preservation of small 

 birds, especially noticing the spar- 

 row. He concluded by saying. Let 

 us hope that the arguments in 

 favour of birds will have removed 

 this error, and that the question 

 between man and birds will have 

 reduced itself to whether the balance 

 of good is in favour of the latter or 

 against them. It would be idle to 

 assert that birds consume nothing 

 which, but for them, we might con- 

 sume ourselves. They feed in part 

 at our expense. They destroy the 

 insects that infest our gardens when 

 they can find any ; and when the 

 insects are gone, they search for 

 other food. The first is their la- 

 bour, the second is their wages. 

 And is not the workman worthy of 

 his hire ? The man who grudges 

 a bird a little seed or fruit, might 

 as well begrudge his weekly pay to 

 the labourer. We repeat it, then, 

 let us look at birds as skilful work- 

 men, and the fruit or seed which 

 they eat as the coin in which they 



are paid their wages. Every day's 

 experience tells us that birds are 

 among the most efficient instru- 

 ments of Providence for destroying 

 the vermin that would otherwise 

 overrun us. And people may rely 

 upon it that they cannot more effec- 

 tually encourage the ravages of those 

 insidious foes than by waging war 

 upon the creatures which naturally 

 feed upon them. 



Habits of the Cuckoo in Confine- 

 ment. — I have had a Cuckoo about 

 18 months, which was found in a 

 nest on Clifton Moss, by a man 

 who was mowing, so I infer that it 

 was hatched in a titlark's nest. It 

 is a voracious and not a very clean 

 bird, so we keep it in a cage that 

 formerly contained a parrot which 

 suits its claws very well, and we 

 feed it on hard-boiled eggs, bread 

 and milk, lean meat, with the larvae 

 of wasps, and caterpillars when we 

 can obtain them. About the end 

 of last July but one it became very 

 restless, particularly at night, beat- 

 ing its wings about the cage, and 

 hurting itself very much, but as the 

 time for its migration passed away 

 it began to know us better, becom- 

 ing more reconciled : and when 

 winter drew near it gradually lost 

 most of its feathers, but without 



