yO Report of Committee on Bird Protection. \ r "^^ 



bon Societies in interesting the general public in bird protection. 

 The Pennsylvania Railroad also lent us its aid by notifying its 

 agents to exercise great care not to ship from the Slate any birds 

 killed contrary to law, as they would thereby be liable to prose- 

 cution under the laws of Delaware. 



The immediate result was the prevention of the filling of this 

 contract for crows and blackbirds, and it does not seem likely that 

 another effort of the same kind will be made in the near future. 

 Furthermore, the citizens were greatly agitated over the matter of 

 bird protection, a Delaware Audubon Society was organized, and 

 there is promise of better laws being passed in the near future. 



This agitation was the means of bringing your chairman into 

 direct communication with Mr. Charles W. Farmer of the Milli- 

 nery Merchants' Protective Association, embracing nine tenths of 

 the leading firms in America. Mr. Farmer protested against the 

 alleged exaggerations of the newspapers and assured your Com- 

 mittee that no firm would think of buying small American birds 

 of any description. 



In the course of considerable correspondence your chairman 

 suggested that if the use of any sort of American wild bird was 

 tabooed by the millinery trade, it would go a long way toward stop- 

 ping the newspaper criticism, which would undoubtedly continue 

 as long as any of our native birds were shot for decoration. 



This resulted in the proposition from the milliners that they 

 would refuse henceforth to deal in any American birds or foreign 

 birds closely resembling American species, as gulls, terns, etc., 

 reserving two seasons to dispose of stock on hand, providing that 

 this Committee and the Audubon Societies would pledge them- 

 selves not to use their infiuence on behalf of legislation against 

 the importation of foreign birds, or feathers of ostrich or domes- 

 tic fowls. Messrs. Chapman and Dutcher met a Committee of the 

 milliners and discussed the matter, after which the proposition 

 was formally presented and published. It was unfortunately 

 badly framed and did not clearly set forth the agreements that the 

 milliners intended to offer, so that although adopted by a mail vote 

 of your Committee, subject to certain alterations agreed to at the 

 above conference, strongly advocated by the editor of ' Bird- 

 Lore,' and favored by the directors of some of the Audubon 



