■^ New Light on the Tragedy of Civilisation 



much-prized marabou feathers. Now, as long ago as the 

 year 1900, at London, as a member of the International 



M. Kurth. He writes in Die Jagd^ Illustrierte Wochenschrift fiir deutsche 

 Jdger^ May 13, 1906 : 



"As for the stork-shooting appointed by the District Committee of the 

 districts of Soldin, Landsberg and Ost-Sternberg for the period from 

 March i to June 15, it is to be remarked that the opinions held by 

 sportsmen as to the damage done by storks, especially in reference to 

 small game, are very much divided, and that not much can be put to the 

 reckoning of ' Brother Longlegs ' of those misdeeds that figure heavily in 

 the accounts of other robbers, such as the crane, the magpie, and all kinds 

 of native birds of prey, and the hedgehog, marten, and polecat. These 

 one and all carry off nestlings, and most of them attack young leverets also. 

 Now if we are to go for the stork, it should of course be done when 

 he is to be found together in too great numbers ; and this is entirely the 

 idea of the District Committee. The neighbourhood of Balz bei Vietz 

 on the Eastern Railway has always been remarkable for the number of its 

 storks' nests. One finds two of them on nearly every one of the old barns, 

 a nest at each end of the roof. It was so even thirty years ago, and so it 

 is to this day. But the proprietors of the barns never agree to the nests 

 of the storks being destroyed, or any opposition made to the settling there 

 of these trustful and friendly birds. And for what reasons precisely has 

 ' Friend Adebar ' settled in such numbers in this district ? Well, here the 

 far-spreading meadows of the Warthe, with their full scope for extended 

 flight, offer him all the food he wants and to spare, and here the frogs' 

 legs must be particularly good. It may be that now and again a young 

 partridge or a leveret strays into Mother Stork's kitchen, but that is 

 the exception. Now if people keep strictly to the object indicated by the 

 District Committee, namely to bring down the numbers of the storks where 

 there are too many of them, one may let it pass. But how many will out 

 of a mere shooting-mania take aim continually at the harmless birds ! — 

 though such are never genuine sportsmen. How can this be checked? 

 And it should not be forgotten that in the first week of April our African 

 guests are to be found in hundreds along the Warthe brook, whence they 

 then disperse to various parts of the neighbouring districts. Now it is to 

 be hoped that no one will assume that the stork is to be found here 

 'in too great numbers,' and that therefore 'one may blaze away at him.' 

 In some years this may possibly be the case, but if he were scared 

 out of the district our landscape would be the poorer by the loss of the 



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