148 PROTECTION OF BIRDS 



proved to be that of any particular kind of bird, unless a 

 witness could swear that he saw the bird lay it. 



Egging may be considered to be carried on chiefly 

 by three classes of persons : — 



First, there is the man who for years has gathered the 

 eggs of Plovers and certain marsh- or sea-birds for edible 

 purposes, whereby, if he be an adept, he is able by their 

 sale in the open market to add considerably to his own 

 liveHhood. This man, I beheve, would rejoice at a 

 " close-time " being enforced, after the first, second, or 

 third laying of the birds, for the places where he pHes his 

 calling, so as to allow the hatching of the second, third, 

 or fourth laying (as the case may be) — and most of the 

 birds with which he is concerned lay twice, thrice, or four 

 times in the season — and so ensure the unimpaired 

 continuation of the breed. 



Secondly, there is the ordinary schoolboy, whose 

 depredations are at times extremely annoying to the 

 owners or occupiers of gardens, plantations, and the 

 like, but declared by the " Close-time " Committee to 

 have little or no effect in reducing the number of birds 

 in general, though their continuance year after year in 

 particular districts may locally produce that effect. Now 

 it is to be remarked that the ordinary schoolboy, as a 

 rule, is quite indifferent as to the kind of bird whose nest 

 he may rob, and any restriction as to protected or unpro- 

 tected species would be whoUy lost upon him. To this 

 rule there are some exceptions, and the exceptions often 

 grow up to be fair naturahsts. 



Thirdly, there is the " collector," who is only some- 

 times a naturalist in the true sense of the word. When 

 he is one, he may be safely trusted to do no harm ; but 

 more often he is a dealer, and his influence on the whole 

 is destructive to the less common kinds of birds, though 

 even to this there are exceptions — as for instance the 

 notable case of the Golden Eagle, which in Scotland 

 would have become extinct, as the Sea Eagle has, were 

 it not that the price the " collector " pays for its eggs 

 ensures its preservation at the hands of shepherds, 



