Birds as Crop Protectors 
bers were shot, but it must always be remem- 
bered that these battues only take a toll of 
the immigrants who come to this country in 
autumn from the Continent, and that the 
definite extermination of the WooD-PIGEON 
as a British bird is therefore a matter entirely 
out of our control. 
There is no doubt that, throughout the 
War, the energy of the Royal Society for the 
Protection of Birds did much to prevent the 
ruthless and senseless extermination in this 
country of our feathered friends, who d ‘serve 
their name not from a feeling of sentiment 
but from a grateful sense of their utility: 
Not only did the Society carry on a vigorous 
campaign in the columns of the newspapers, 
but it also issued a pamphlet setting out the 
provisions of our Wild Birds Protection Acts, 
printed in English, French, and Flemish, for 
the guidance of the numerous Belgian refugees 
in this country, who, it was thought, might 
be expected to kill birds for the pot (Bird 
Notes and News, vol. vi. p. 78). The Society 
also circulated from time to time carefully 
prepared leaflets pointing out the economic 
39 
