USEFUL BIRDS 277 



peculiar persecution ? It is shameful that, as may 

 be witnessed any spring in London, adult lapwings 

 and their eggs should be exposed for sale in the 

 same shops at the same time ; for of all fowls of the 

 air, there is not one that works so incessantly and 

 exclusively in the farmer's service as the pretty 

 peewit. The diet of this bird is wholly of worms, 

 insects, and molluscs, and it is simply indefatigable 

 in clearing the land of these pests. 



LXXXIII 



As yet, Great Britain compares favourably with 

 every other Christian country in Europe useful 

 in the abundance of bird life. I say Birds 

 Christian, because, as is well known, Mohammedans 

 refrain scrupulously from molesting even such birds 

 as we reckon vermin in this country ; the interest of 

 travelling through Turkey is much enhanced by the 

 number and variety of feathered creatures in the 

 woods, the fields, and even in the towns. In other 

 countries, the growing scarcity of useful birds has 

 attracted the attention of their respective legisla- 

 tures. With Mr. Howard Saunders, I was ap- 

 pointed by the Board of Agriculture to attend the 

 international conference invited by the French 



