FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB. 21 



of shooting birds at all seasons of the year, a practice the results 

 of which are becoming, every day, more apparent in the increasing 

 number of grubs and all insects detrimental to our crops, although 

 I believe the majority of our plumage birds are flowers sucking 

 ones. I may mention, here, as an instance of such results, that 

 when I was recently surveying in the Arima Ward Union, I saw 

 on the estates rented in Oropoucbe by Mr. Ernest Rodulfo (a 

 great place of resort for bird stuffers), considerable damage done 

 to the crops by swarms of grass-hoppers, grubs, and insects, which 

 were scarcely ever seen there, before, in any appreciable quantity. 



1. Having for years past been almost constantly surveying 

 in every district of the Colony, I can bear testimony to the 

 relentless war waged, at all times, against our ornamental birds, 

 though not by far so much against those for the table, and to the 

 almost incredible absence now of days, of birds in our forests, which 

 were formerly so much alive with them. In fact, the dearth of 

 animallifeinourhigh woods is sadly remarkable at the present time. 



2. No attention, whatever, is paid by those who make a 

 trade of bird stuffing, to the nesting, laying, or setting seasons, 

 nor, in some cases, even to the moulting times of certain variety 

 of birds, and, all the year round, in certain districts, particularly 

 cocoa ones, there is a constant popping off which reaches its 

 maximum in April and May. 



3. It is worthy of remark that it must be much more remun- 

 erative to shoot birds for their skins than for their meat, as is 

 every day proved by the very scanty supply of wild game birds 

 in our markets, whilst thousands of dozens of stuffed birds, or 

 skins, are constantly exported. 



4. It is, perhaps, not generally known that 1 Rj of powder 

 and 5 lbs of shot (No 12), and less than 250 caps, costing, 

 altogether about 82. 20 will bring down an average of 25 dozen 

 birds, generally sold to retailers, at 60 cents a dozen, or $15.00, 

 for assorted birds, and at $1 per dozen for Rubis humming 

 birds = $25.00 and that from 10 to 15 dozens a day can be shot 

 and put in skins. 



5. I have frequently met in distant parts of the Island, even 

 in wild uninhabited forest, full grown able-men, eminently fit for 

 more manly work, mostly Spaniards or of Spanish origin, at 

 midday lazily lounging in their " chinchorros" smoking their pipes 

 or long tonis, and often singing and playing guitar, after having 

 in the morning, shot and skinned their ten or twelve dozens birds. 



6. After careful efforts made by me to endeavour and 

 ascertain the exact period of nesting and laying of each sort of 

 our wild birds, I regret to say that I do not believe that any 

 satisfactory information can be gathered, without further investi- 

 gation sytematically carried out. 



