BIRDS AS FOOD 215 



overlooked, and their death toll continued to in- 

 crease. Owing to the state of war which prevailed 

 in Europe at that time, food was expensive and 

 scarce in France. Birds were easy to catch and 

 cost nothing. Therefore, they became food for 

 the French people. 



Once the habit had been instilled in the 

 peasantry of securing food in this way, only the 

 enforcement of stringent laws could break it. As 

 a result of the promiscuous slaughter of the pre- 

 vious fifty years, the agriculture of France by the 

 middle of the nineteenth century was virtually 

 ruined by succeeding waves of insect pests, 

 aided by swarms of rodents which devoured 

 the crops. An official investigation showed 

 that all birds were on the edge of extermin- 

 ation; they had gone to provide sustenance 

 for the peasants and to fill the markets of 

 Paris. The French Government at once en- 

 acted laws to protect all but a few birds. The 

 laws were enforced, and within a few years the 

 bird population had revived. The shops were no 

 longer cluttered with their bodies, and the insect 

 and rodent scourges had become memories of the 

 past. 



The story of Italy, however, is very different 

 from that of France. Italian birds still are the 

 property of any person who wishes to take them. 

 They are excellent eating: therefore Italy is with- 



