RATIONAL BIRD PROTECTION 381 



places ; and they drove away from the district the useful 

 little native Tits, which feed among these trees and have 

 their own appointed work on them. A correspondent 

 of 'a Geelong paper writes again of the charming sight 

 of a number of English Blackbirds hopping about on 

 a lawn beneath the spraying water-hose, and busily 

 feeding on the \vorms. Yet this same bird is becoming 

 a great nuisance to the fruit growers there. This is also 

 the case in New Zealand, where large prices are now 

 being offered for dead Blackbirds and their eggs. The 

 Starling, again, which is so useful in our own pasture 

 lands, has been known to clear out a vineyard in 

 Southern Victoria in a single night. Thrushes are 

 looked upon there as suspects, but opinions are divided 

 as to this bird. 



We have already written about the Quails, imported 

 into the canefields of Hawaii, to be in their turn 

 exterminated by the mongoose, who had been brought 

 there to eat up the devastating rats. 



To sum up the whole matter, interference with the 

 balance of Nature must only be undertaken with know- 

 ledge and discretion ; and those who undertake it must 

 study, and profit by the recorded experiences of our 

 accredited guides in this direction. 



