"Think of your woods and orchards without birds: 



Of empty nests that nling to boughs and beams."— Longfellow. 



BIRD PROTECTION. 



BY DAVID L. SAVAGE 



How to protect tlie birds has been with me a subject of grave consider- 

 ation for some time. Having always from my earliest recollection been an 

 ardent admirer of the -iittle brothers of the air," I cannot imagine an 

 existence apart from the love and companionship of the birds. 



You will agree with me that something should be done and done quickly 

 to spare their innocent lives, for from all sides come reports of a decrease 

 in native birds, due especially to the increasing slaughter of birds for 

 game, the dertiand for feathers to supply the millinery trade, and the 

 breaking up of nests to gratify the egg-collecting proclivities of small 

 boys. Indeed, it is due time that we, who are admirers of the feathered 

 population, were awakening ourselves and taking some united action to 

 stay the hand of the destr(jyer. 



It might be well for us to spend a few moments in considering these 

 tliree elements which are at war against bird life. 



Laws, stringent enough and enforced enough will protect our birds 

 from the gun and snare of the sportsman. Our state legislature took a 

 very wise step last winter when it passed more stringent laws to protect 

 this class of birds. In the main the law is excellent, now all that is need- 

 ed is tlie enforcement of tlie laws in force. We have reports from some 

 counties that hunting itself, and the slaughtering of innocent birds, is 

 held as such a sacred priviledge of the sons of this "land of the free" that 

 nobody dares to interfere. The right to slaughter seems to be the ideal 

 prerogative of the American and the true exponent of liberty. However, 

 I am glad to be able to state that in Henry County the game laws are very 

 much respected. It is not from this side that we need to .be the most 

 alarmed. 



Upon looking at tlie second foe, the demand for feathers to supply the 

 millinery trade, we gaze upon a deplorable scene. In America alone we 

 lind at least seven million five hundred thousand (7, .500.000) birds sacrific- 

 ed annually to decorate hats and bonnets. More birds than are in any 

 public Tuuseujn or private collection of our land. It is hard for the mind 

 to conceive of such vast numbers of birds and to think that they are 

 sacrificed for a worse than useless purpose. What is still more irritating, 

 the ladies cannot understand how they are in any way responsible for 

 tliis terrible slaughter so long as no individual bird is selected and killed 

 for their individual purpose. They say: ••the birds will be killed anyway." 



It is high time the ladies were receiving some enlightenment concerning 

 the eiioraious destruction of life which this long established, but barbarous 

 custom of wearing feathers for orti.amentation entails. 



