A Very Old Milestone. 199 



almost, if not quite too late, an earnest cry is 

 going up to spare the birds ; but are not the 

 fools too many and the wise too few to restore 

 our one-time blessing ? Spare what are left by 

 all means, but what of those that are gone 

 forever ? 



We establish national parks for the preser- 

 vation of " noble game" when it is threatened 

 with extinction, but had not wit enough to 

 foresee the danger and check the lawless scoun- 

 drels who caused the mischief. Awake to the 

 disappearing bison, because " noble game," but 

 what of the nobility of singing birds ? Is it 

 never to be recognized ? We do not seem to 

 awake to this until the music ceases, and it 

 dawns upon us that something is lacking to 

 round out the summer day. A stranger from 

 another planet might think that the "country" 

 belonged to the city, and farmers were living 

 in the fields by sufferance. Some heartless 

 city clique demands bluebirds for bonnets, 

 orioles for hats, and breasts of grebes for tip- 

 pets, and these birds must yield their lives to 

 meet such whims. He who loves the living 

 bird is a fool and must stand aside. A cele- 



