How Animals Work. 



their services in holding in check the insects that would 

 otherwise devour their crops, but who are too steeped 

 in self-satisfied ignorance and tradition either to take 

 the trouble to observe accurately and dispassionately for 

 themselves, or to give honest credence to the advice or 

 warnings of those who have studied the habits of their 

 victims ; while the so-called amateur " sportsman " too 

 often seems to consider " sport " as standing for the 

 slaying of every bird that crosses his path. Women, too, 

 help in this senseless slaughter, and are responsible for 

 the fast-approaching extinction of many beautiful birds. 

 The present ruthless and wanton slaughter of birds for 

 the bedecking of women's hats and garments is a dis- 

 graceful, a shameful, and revolting trade one which, 

 if left unchecked, will eventually bring disaster to many 

 countries, by removing the natural balance of bird 

 and insect life, so that the latter will increase in such 

 numbers as to become a serious menace to all agri- 

 cultural labour, and may even cause the total destruc- 

 tion of our food crops. It is a danger which has got 

 to be faced, squarely and honestly, and is one which no 

 half-hearted legislation can avert. 



Have you ever considered the nest of a bird in its 

 full significance, not merely as a jumble of twigs and 

 moss and hair brought haphazard together, for that is a 

 false idea altogether, but in its true light as a perfect 

 piece of workmanship wrought with loving care and 

 labour ? If you have once given it a moment's serious 

 thought, I am sure you , could not have helped being 

 impressed by its beauty and ingenuity, and perhaps 

 wished that you might learn more of the ways of 

 these feathered architects, and, best of all, that they 



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