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seen a Wood-wren in a cage, it would not alter the fadl that he is en¬

deavouring to do his best to stop the wholesale extermination of our

delicate insectivorous songsters. Even a Wagtail or a Redstart requires

intelligent treatment in captivity, and, when fresh caught, unceasing

attention besides; and it is this, fortunately, that protects, in a degree, these

birds and the others mentioned, it being a fact that an ordinary bird-catcher

does not find it worth his while to catch them, while, if he occasionally

finds an accidental specimen in his “ catch ” he mostly releases it, as he

knows the bird-dealers will not take it off his hands. Any amateur of

ordinary experience would not buy one of these birds from a dealer, know¬

ing, as he would, that it would already be half dead ; but when such an one

sees advertisements offering specimens at prices which would only be

warranted by the birds indicated being already “ meated off,” he is tempted

to send for them and, as pointed out in the letter which has given rise to

this correspondence, some unprincipled persons have ingeniously adopted

the practice of so advertising them. While the advertisements are appear¬

ing these people make nightly excursions into the country, and in the early

morning catch all they can possibty get their nets over, or can inveigle on

to their “limed” twigs. All the unfortunate captives are brought home,

and if orders come in they are sold. The catcher crams them with gentles

and mealworms to prolong their lives as far as possible for his own mercen¬

ary ends, but troubles nothing if, to use the words of “ Varet’s ” letter,

“scarcely one in a hundred of those sent away would live for twenty-four

hours,” or that “ those he succeeded in selling did not represent a tithe of

those originally caught.” Even if the buyers knew they were receiving

freshly caught birds, and knew how to property treat them on arrival, the

cruelty involved would be quite sufficient to call aloud for suppression, but,

as the inhuman traffic is now carried on, purchasers are deceived into the

belief that the birds they are buying are already accustomed to captivity,

and the cruelty is thereby intensified.


If I have not already trespassed too much upon space, I should

like to mention an experience of my own which has taught me never to buy

birds from advertisements of unknown people. Some years ago I had a

small collection of British birds in an outdoor aviary, and quite the most

interesting of the lot were a pair of Blue-tits and a pair of Coal-tits. Every¬

one who has kept these charming little birds knows that they will get

through apertures which seemed, beforehand, much too small to be unsafe,

and one day I lost all my four birds. I bought many afterwards from

time to time in the bird-shops, but could never keep one alive. Seeing an

advertisement from a man in Devonshire, I wrote, ordering two pairs each

of Blue-tits, Marsh-tits, and Coal-tits. In due time two cigar boxes were

delivered, and these, upon being opened, proved each to contain six birds,

every one dead. I have not the slightest doubt that the advertiser was of

a kidney with those mentioned by “ Varet,” and was one who caught birds

by the thousand, and packed them off, dead or alive, so long as he re¬

ceived the money beforehand.


The whole thing needs the intervention of the R.S.P.C.A., or of the

various Societies for the protection of our feathered songsters. They could

find out these things as easily as could amateurs, and can scarcely be blind

to the abominable cruelty going on all around them.


Henry J. Fueejames.



