3142 Tue ZooLocist—JuLy, 1872. 
able to speak of the practices of the trade alluded to, from infor- 
mation within my own knowledge. I have endeavoured to induce 
the nightingale to build its nest in my garden at Highgate with 
success, and it would shortly have been a welcome visitant in the 
neighbouring gardens; but as soon as the poor things began to 
sing they were trapped. Not caring to breed{nightingales for bird- 
fanciers, I have given up the attempt; but the other pretty denizens 
of air who come for shelter and roost in my trees are equally snared 
by trappers, and, owing to this circumstance, my garden will 
shortly be left in possession of superabundant caterpillars and other 
insect life,—a result which has unhappily been prevalent on the 
Continent, and has caused serious injury to agricultural and 
garden produce there. I ascertained from my gardener that these 
bird-trappers come mostly on Sundays, during church-time, and he 
also told me that many of the revolting practices attributed to them 
are founded on fact. This also I have had verified for me at the 
Sunday bird mart, where may be found sometimes 20,000 persons 
congregated and occupied in bird traffic on Sundays. Adding 
these men to others employed at the same hour in ensnaring birds 
gives a large number of persons engaged, not in buying and selling, 
but in following the most demoralizing practices. I allude to the 
taking away from the creature God’s gift of sight, by the applica- 
tion of acids or a red-hot wire, in order to qualify it to act more 
efficiently as a decoy to its unensnared companions, and to the 
scarcely, if at all, less cruel practice at the bird mart of “ training” 
by means of perpetual darkness, as well as enveloping tiny cages 
in thick coverings, so that the poor blinded occupants, surrounded 
by cages of non-singing birds uncovered and for sale, may attract 
a multitude of dupes by their superior music, and serve to gull 
them into a delusion that the song of the decoy, which they have 
admired, issues from the throats of the timid little creatures they 
now purchase and carry to their homes. 
The practice of entrapping birds at this season of the year 
induces a second form of cruelty. If the hen be taken from its 
young, protracted sufferings and death follow to the bereaved 
progeny; and if the helpless young be taken and exposed for sale 
at the mart, perhaps for several days, they also will inevitably suffer 
from privations before death ensue, even should their helplessness 
touch some soft part of the heart of the dupe who has bought them 
and done his best to rear them; otherwise they will be starved in 
