no What Birds Have Done With Me 



Shadows, where death reigns, making one think 

 of what King Herod did to this world when he 

 ordered the slaughter of the innocent. Systematic 

 Ornithology is scarcely necessary at present, it 

 has been done and well done, and back of much 

 of the so-called scientific examination of birds' 

 stomachs is the commercial demand for a stuffed 

 specimen. On the first page of our this week's 

 village paper is an article on birds, a scientific 

 article, beyond question; an account of the exam- 

 ination of the stomachs of some of our rare and 

 beautiful birds is given and the statement is made 

 that 271 stomachs were available. 



This certainly suggests a successful drive upon 

 the part of the Allies Scientists, Plume Hunters 

 and Curators. We can but adopt the justly cele- 

 brated words of Madame Roland and cry out: 

 "O! Blind and deaf and bloody Ornithology, 

 'what crimes have been committed in thy name.' ' 



You can learn something about birds in a mu- 

 seum that happens to have a collection of stuffed 

 specimens, and most museums have, and you can 

 learn something of the piano, under a good 

 teacher, if you never have anything but a dumb 

 instrument to practice upon, but in both cases the 

 element of life is wanting and discord will be the 

 inevitable result of misdirected study. 



In all his long years of study in the Philippines, 

 I notice that Dean Worcester failed to secure the 



