Birds as Crop Protectors 



bers were shot, but it must always be remem- 

 bered that these battues only take a toll of 

 the immigrants who come to this country in 

 autumn from the Continent, and that the 

 definite extermination of the WOOD-PIGEON 

 as a British bird is therefore a matter entirely 

 out of our control. 



There is no doubt that, throughout the 

 War, the energy of the Royal Society for the 

 Protection of Birds did much to prevent the 

 ruthless and senseless extermination in this 

 country of our feathered friends, who deserve 

 their name not from a feeling of sentiment 

 but from a grateful sense of their utility. 

 Not only did the Society carry on a vigorous 

 campaign in the columns of the newspapers, 

 but it also issued a pamphlet setting out the 

 provisions of our Wild Birds Protection Acts, 

 printed in English, French, and Flemish, for 

 the guidance of the numerous Belgian refugees 

 in this country, who, it was thought, might 

 be expected to kill birds for the pot (Bird 

 Notes and News, vol. vi. p. 78). The Society 

 also circulated from time to time carefully 

 prepared leaflets pointing out the economic 



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