92 BEPORT— 1869. 



sea-birds during the breeding-season, the reasons given being that sea-birds 

 are useful in destrojdng grubs and worms, in acting as scavengers in the 

 harbours, in warning vessels off the rocks during fogs by their cries, and in 

 hovering over and pointing out to the iishermen the locality of the shoals 

 of fish. 



At the above meeting Mr. J. E. Harting, F.L.S. &c. was proposed and 

 elected as a member of this Committee. 



Since then the members of your Committee have to the best of their power 

 cooperated with the Association for the Protection of Sea-birds, and that 

 Association has fully acknowledged the assistance rendered. The Bill for 

 the protection of Sea-fowl was entrusted to the care of C. Sykes, Esq., M.P., 

 in the Commons, and His Grace the Duke of Northumberland in the Lords, 

 where it met with a most favoiirable reception. 



Before the Bill passed into Committee a meeting of naturalists was held at 

 the Hanover Square Booms in order to consider and discuss the various 

 clauses. However, as the progress of the Bill has been so fiilly reported iii 

 the newspapers, it is needless to enter into details here, and it will be suffi- 

 cient to say that at first it was proposed to make it illegal, not only to kill 

 the birds during the breeding-season, but also to take their eggs ; and the 

 close time was proposed to extend from the 1st of May to the 1st of August. 

 However, it was found that so much injurj- would be inflicted on the poorer 

 classes living on the coast if they were prevented from taking the eggs or 

 young of the sea-birds, as they are often dependent on these for subsistence, 

 that the egg clause Avas struck out, and the young, when unable to fly, were 

 exempted. It was also considered that it would be expedient to exempt the 

 island of St. Kilda, the inhabitants of that island being so entirely dependent 

 on sea-birds for their subsistence. 



With these modifications, and the close time being extended one month, 

 or from the 1st of April to the 1st of August, the BiU became law in June last, 

 and one conviction has already taken place. The person convicted under this 

 Act had dead sea-guUs in his possession, and was heavily fined. The Bill for 

 the protection of sea-birds having now become law, it has to be considered how 

 far it wiU be advisable to press for its extension to other birds and mammals. 

 That it wiU be well to afford protection to most, if not all, of our birds, at 

 least during the breeding-season, your Committee are fully convinced ; but it 

 yet remains to convince the farmer that he will derive benefit from so doing. 



Our British agriculturist is in general no naturalist, and takes it for granted 

 that every grain-eating bird must do him harm. He accordingly does his 

 best to exterminate sparrows and other small birds, little thinking of the 

 benefit they render him in destroying insects. Nor will the game-preserver, 

 we fear, countenance so sweeping a measure until he is fully convinced that 

 it is necessary to put some limit to the ravages made by his gamekeeper 

 amongst our feathered friends. 



On the continent, and particularly where zoology forms a branch of study 

 in the schools of agriculture (as in Germany, Sweden, «S:c.), the utility of 

 many of our birds, which with us are persecuted as vermin, is fully recognized, 

 and instead of forming sparrow clubs, the agriculturists there take steps to 

 protect the feathered tribes. 



In the grain-growing countries of Russia near and in every ■s'illage small 

 boxes and sections of hoUow branches may be seen fixed on to trees, barns, 



* We may here state that an Act protecting the sea-birds, not only during the breeding- 

 season, but during the whole year, has been for some time in force in the Isle of Man, and 

 has had the effect of almost entirely stopping the destruction of sea-fowl on that island. 



