Birds and the Fruit-Farm 303 



species — ^for sale in bunches of three, or by the bas- 

 ket containing hundreds; and this in any village 

 of Italy, Spain, Portugal, or Asia Minor. Game 

 birds too? Yes, if they can be had, but Italians, 

 Spaniards, wealthy, educated, refined, living in 

 "palaces by the sea,** boast of a day's plunder, 

 hundreds of skylarks, and the like, and consider 

 them a choice morsel, as Americans consider 

 reed-birds. 



With the millions of Italians, Hungarians, Po- 

 lacks, Russians, Arabs, Bulgars, Persians flooding 

 America, and bringing with them all the bird- 

 killing appetite of centuries of Europe, what is 

 to become of American birds? Shall Antonio and 

 Joseff y and Oesterglitzyiz literally eat up American 

 birds to the extinction of the species, as they have 

 done in their native land? Would the farmers and 

 fruit-growers of our country like to have the thou- 

 sand million dollars lost every year in America 

 by the ravage of crops by insects? What are we 

 doing to prevent this loss? Does Farmer Jones, 

 or Fruit-grower Neville run a "Roccolo'7 Does 

 either turn "pothunter"? Is Antonio suffered to 

 roam at will over the farms cleaning out birds and 

 game of every sort? What a man does by another 

 he does by himself: this is sound law. What farmer 

 lifts his finger, casts his vote, or speaks one word to 

 prevent the destruction of birds, even on his own 

 land? Who has ever known a farmer who took 

 the trouble to protect birds? 



And Antonio in our midst is soon heard from. 



