DANGER OF AN EARLY EXTINCTION OF SONG BIRDS. 183 
has brought down his hundreds of them from the tops 
of tall hemlocks.” Do you tell me this was in the 
cause of science? Out upon the pursuit in such a spirit! 
It is a burlesque on science, a travesty on the study of 
natural history. 
It is a curious fact that although birds as a class are 
the most innocent, the most beautiful and musical of 
living creatures, they are more preyed upon by man 
and beast and crawling reptiles than any other beings. 
Cats, weasels, skunks, squirrels, ferrets, muskrats, 
mink, foxes and snakes, all prey upon them, killing the 
old birds and eating the eggs and young; in many cases 
getting nearly their living on the birds. They have rob- 
bers, too, in their own class. Hawks, owls, crows, jays, 
shrikes and one or two species of blackbirds are canni- 
bals in their way. One can indorse the terse, strong 
language of Dr. Abbott, the naturalist: “A creature 
that will destroy a song-bird’s nest is a pest, and 
whether furred, feathered, four-legged or a boy, ought . 
to be exterminated.” 
The Agassiz Association, itself a worthy organization, 
with laudable aims, soon had thousands in its ranks 
who degenerated into mere specimen gatherers. The 
egg-collecting craze infected boys alike in cities, villages 
and rural districts. The country was scoured far and 
near for nests and eggs. Lawns, hedges, orchards, 
fields and highways were mercilessly ransacked, and 
every nest common or rare despoiled ; even cemeteries, 
always favorite resorts for the birds, were not exempt 
from the destroyer. Within the last few years millions 
