Destruction by Man 75 



ent, all the splendid work of Federal and State 

 legislation, all the labors of game and song bird 

 protective associations, all the loving care of 

 individuals in watching and feeding, will not be 

 able to save our native birds in many localities." 



Edward Howe Forbush, State Ornithologist 

 of Massachusetts, a careful writer who is always 

 sure of his ground, tells us of the situation in his 

 own state. "Nearly a hundred correspondents 

 scattered through all the counties of the state 

 report the cat as one of the greatest enemies of 

 the birds. The reports that have come in of the 

 torturing and killing of birds by cats are abso- 

 lutely sickening. The number of birds killed by 

 them in this state is appalling. It is quite true, 

 however, that some cats do not kill many birds, 

 and that some intelligent or high-bred cats may 

 be taught not to kill any. Some cat-lovers be- 

 lieve that each cat kills on the average not more 

 than ten birds a year; but I have learned of two 

 instances where more than that number were 

 killed in a single day, and another where seven 

 were killed. If we assume, however, that the 

 average cat on the farm kills but ten birds in a 

 year, and that there is one cat on each farm 

 in Massachusetts, we have in round numbers, 

 70,000 cats killing 700,000 birds annually. " 



With the material at hand it would be a simple 



