VI PEEFACE. 



which they have received from the cruel and 

 unthinking has been the great sorrow of my life. 



Although in a humble way, ' in season,' and 

 perhaps, sometimes, ' out of season,' I have 

 worked and pleaded for a better and wiser treat- 

 ment of them, yet I shall ever remain their 

 grateful debtor. 



If I have written anything that shall make 

 them better known and better loved — anything 

 that shall cause a woman to hesitate before 

 allowing any part of one to disfigure her gar- 

 ment — anything that will prevent the present 

 lavish waste of life by the collector of specimens — 

 anything that will check the wholesale destruc- 

 tion of nests by the thoughtless egg collector — 

 I shall feel repaid for the labor bestowed. 



