56 Protection of Wild Life 1x Yorkshire. 
bird life, altogether unsuspected by the general public. One 
of these is the increasing use of poisonous weed destroyers, 
worms and larvae destroyed by these chemical preparations 
come to the surface to die, and are often devoured by birds, 
with fatal results to the birds. Of late quite large numbers 
of sea birds and ducks have been found dead and dying along 
the shores of the East coast, their feathers and wings clogged 
with thick oil, so much so, that it prevented them diving, and 
obtaining their food. The substance was said to be oil from 
submarines. Whatever the cause it appears that even the 
birds have to suffer from German ‘ frightfulness.’ 
Cats, with an absolute contempt for the law, destroy an 
enormous number of young birds, especially cats kept near 
woods and coppices and about gardens which afford nesting 
sites for Thrushes and other small birds. When a cat runs 
wild and takes to the woods permanently, it is a terribly 
destructive agent. This summer I had three disappointments 
through an animal of this character. I had three Wood Warb- 
lers’ nests under observation. I was anxious to obtain some 
photographs, and in order not to unduly disturb the birds, I 
delayed my operations until the young were nearly ready to 
fly. I spent an hour or two with them one morning, but as 
the light was rather poor, the results were not altogether 
satisfactory, so I decided to try again the following day, which 
was nice and bright. Invariably when approaching the nest 
the parent birds were.at once in evidence, their anxiety great. 
and their calls incessant. This morning as I drew near the 
silence was ominous, I knew things were not as they should 
be. Investigation showed that the young had disappeared, ° 
and the inner lining of the nest had been torn out. Proceeding 
to another nest close at hand I was very disappointed to find 
the same fate had overtaken it and froma bush close by, a large 
‘tortoise-sheil tabby cat darted away. 
Bird catchers do a great amount of harm. The new clause 
‘in the Protection Acts, prohibiting bird catching on Sundays, 
has, however, curtailed their activities to a considerable extent, 
as Sunday has been their principal day for operations. 
Formerly large numbers of Gulls and Terns were destroyed 
on the coast ; at one time huge quantities were shot to supply 
the demand of the feather and millinery trades. I remember 
once seeing seventeen dozen Terns, the result of a Sunday 
afternoon’s shooting in Bridlington Bay, hung up in the engine 
house at the Spa: They had been shot by the engineer em- 
ployed there at that time, a Harrogate man I am sorry to say. 
He told me he sold. them to the agents of the millinery houses 
for 7s. 11d. per dozen. It is an easy matter to obtain any 
quantity of these birds, for when shooting into a flock from a 
boat, if one or two are injured and flop about on the surface 
! Naturalist. 
