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short visits in order to study the migration of birds, and the catching 

 of birds practised in that country. 



The result of all his studies and observations was the conclusion 

 that it is only by correcting Nature where man has marred her that 

 the protection of birds can be properly dealt with, and that this can 

 only be attained through Nature herself, or through an exact imitation 

 of Nature. All so-called inventions for the protection of birds he 

 considers absurd from the very outset, and the chief cause of former 

 failures. And it is just because he always based his experiments upon 

 Nature that they were crowned with entire success. 



Baron von Berlepsch has, therefore, made it possible for us to carry 

 out the protection of birds on a basis which is rational, and entirely 

 in accordance with Nature. 



He is no mere theorist, for all that he has published on the subject 

 of bird-protection has been thoroughly tested by him for many years 

 at his extensive experimental station at Seebach. As the following 

 account is based on a study of the grounds at Seebach, it would, perhaps, 

 be as well to give a description of them. 



IV. THE EXPERIMENTAL STATION AT SEEBACH. 



THE ancestral castle of the Berlepsch family, dating from the 

 12th century, stands on the estate of Seebach, in the district of 

 Langensalza, in Thuringia. On the same spot where one of his uncles 

 did excellent w r ork for agriculture, by means of his world-renowned 

 experiments in bee-keeping, the present Baron won a similar success 

 by means of his efforts for the protection of birds, which were of such 

 importance from an agricultural point of view. 



The area which has been used for the experiments comprises about 

 500 acres, of which 19 acres are park, 60 acres are thickets (poplar 

 and willow plantations) for the birds, and 400 acres are wood. 



The park which surrounds the old castle is of great interest to 

 botanists, especially those interested in trees, because it contains 

 examples of all the trees of Central Europe. Its special value, however, 

 lies in the fact that the protection and encouragement of birds have 

 received attention everywhere, but without undue preponderance, 

 in the laying out of the grounds. No one can fail to be struck by the 



