168 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



of this report shows 12 robins, 3 blue jays, 3 flickers, 2 hermit 

 thrushes and 1 purj^le finch which were concealed on the per- 

 son of an Italian who was arrested by a game warden in 

 Connecticut. This hunter had no gun, but was carrying the 

 '' game " for three people who did the shooting. He had a 

 copy of the game laws printed in Italian in his pocket. The 

 heads of about 100 robins were found where some Polish 

 hunters had dressed them in a New Hampshire city, and in 

 Massachusetts an Italian was taken with 40 birds, mostly 

 flickers, on his person. These are only a few of the instances 

 that have come to light. 



Complaints are made that the laws are not enforced, and 

 that some of the wardens are inactive, but conditions have 

 been very much improved since the hunters' license law was 

 passed. Before that time there were many Italian camps 

 where the ground was strewn with feathers, and it was re- 

 ported that in some instances hardly a bird was left alive 

 in the woods. It is difficult, even under present conditions, 

 to stop this practice among foreigners, and the laws will never 

 be fully enforced until every one interested in the protection 

 of birds uses his influence in the right direction. 



The Massachusetts Audubon Society has printed an appeal 

 to the Italians, advising them of the laws protecting song 

 birds and requesting better observance. The Commission on 

 Fisheries and Game have notices printed in Italian for dis- 

 tribution by any one who is interested. An appeal must be 

 made to the religious instructors of foreigners to use their 

 influence toward securing obedience of the law, and the chil- 

 dren in the schools should be taught the value of birds, and 

 urged to protect rather than destroy them. 



Birds feeding on the Eggs of the Gypsy Moth. 



Enforcement of the laws protecting the smaller birds is 

 now imperative, for many of them feed more or less on the 

 gypsy moth and the brown-tail moth. 



In 1896, when my report was published on birds feeding 

 on the gypsy moth, birds were not known to eat the eggs of 

 these moths; but in the last decade evidence has been accu- 



