SLAUGHTER OF SEA-FOWL 139 



own gun, four thousand of these gulls ; and I was told 

 that another of these sea-fowl shooters had an order from a 

 London house for ten thousand." No wonder the Kitti- 

 wakes are rapidly disappearing. There has this year been 

 a marked diminution of the great breeding colony in the 

 Speeton Cliffs. Fair and innocent as the snowy plumes 

 may appear in a lady's hat, I must tell the wearer the truth 

 — " She bears the murderer's brand on her forehead." 



Now that a stop should be put to this wanton and 

 atrocious destruction of a species, aggravated as it is by 

 circumstances of peculiar cruelty, I think none of my 

 audience will deny. The only question is how it should 

 be done. As I have said before, no doubt public opinion 

 would be the most effectual check ; but on the other 

 hand, I fear lest by the time we can hope to influence 

 public opinion to such a degree that Laricide shall be 

 regarded in the same light as Vulpicide, there will be no 

 more Kittiwakes on our coast to protect. It seems to 

 me, after due reflection, that legislative interference is 

 absolutely required, for we can hope to excite the interest 

 of Parliament in the matter sooner than we can that of 

 the nation at large. And this brings me to the special 

 object of this paper. In many countries, as you are 

 aware, there is a " close time " proclaimed by the local 

 authorities, during which time the mere act of carrying 

 a gun is an offence against the law. I need scarcely say 

 that this " close time " extends over the breeding season. 



After a brief description of the " close time " orders 

 in force in certain foreign countries and British colonies, 

 he concluded his paper by an expression of hope that a 

 " close time " would soon be established in this country. 

 Although there had been discussions about the destruc- 

 tion of birds at the meeting of the British Association in 

 the previous year at Dundee, the meeting at Norwich 

 was the first occasion on which the question of " close 

 time" by legislation had been publicly advocated by 

 a responsible person. Newton's paper was widely 



