OCTOBER 217 



conference their inability to enforce any restrictions 

 upon bird traffic in their dominion. The abstention of 

 Italy is a far more serious misfortune than that of 

 Great Britain, for not only is Italy a main point 

 d'appui in the seasonal migration, but her whole 

 population, unlike the people of this country, rely on 

 birds of passage as a food supply, and keep a keen 

 look out for their appearance. Hence, although the 

 Italian Government was, and is, alive to the magnitude 

 of the evil, and is willing enough to co-operate in 

 remedying it if that were possible, they have been 

 obliged to confess their helplessness, owing to the in- 

 grained habits of their people. 



The nets used in Italy are on the principle of a 

 fisherman's trammel. Decoy birds, blinded with red- 

 hot wires, are used habitually, and the nets often 

 measure a kilometre in length. 



'The largest kind . . . may be found in the district 

 between Lago Maggiore and Lago di Lugano, and covers an 

 area of 1 to 1 square kilometre. Tall reversible poles tower 

 towards heaven; on these, in small cages, are the blinded 

 decoy birds which are to entice their feathered relatives 

 from a height. Among the poor blinded creatures were 

 goldfinches, linnets, greenfinches, redbreasts, occasionally the 

 rare ortolan also, accentors, sparrows, and thrushes. Al- 

 though it was late autumn already, one cast of the roccolo 

 (a sham hawk) took 100 goldfinches, then another 100 

 thrushes and 50 or 60 chaffinches; then 17 accentors and 

 21 willow wrens. An ordinary morning's taking was 500 

 birds ; but in September the ordinary bag was up to 2000 

 on one day no less than 800 redbreasts.' 



These birds were not reared in Italy; they were 



