124 THE STUDY OF ANIMAL LIFE 



of pests which man could not, if he tried, eradicate. 

 No tool or poison was ever invented so instru- 

 mental in finding and despatching an obnoxious 

 pest as a bird's beak, but it is not altogether on 

 this point of usefulness that I make an appeal on 

 behalf of our bird friends. Surely they have a 

 right to occupy a place in the world of life, and so 

 long as they are found to be of service, and their 

 presence makes our land a happier and nicer place 

 in which to live, so long should these bright tenants 

 of our fields and hedgerows, woods and meadows, 

 lanes, streams, and gardens, be encouraged and 

 protected. 



There are still, however, many people who, for 

 some callous reason best known to themselves, 

 perpetrate considerable harm among our wild 

 birds. The culprits are not young people alone, 

 and it has always seemed a mystery to me why 

 such cruelty as one sees should be meted out to 

 little sensitive beings, whose every particle throbs 

 and pulsates, and who, in their little way, experi- 

 ence joy and sorrow, who exhibit remarkable 

 evidence of industry, devotion, attachment, and 

 even love. What we want is to spread abroad 

 the spirit of justice and mercy towards these wild 

 creatures, for, as Miss Corelli has so well and so 

 wisely said, with justice dwells honour, and with 

 mercy, love. 



Passing by our bird friends after this dissertation 



