IN AUDUBON'S LABRADOR 



carded on account of the advanced stage of in- 

 cubation. The fishermen take the eggs to a 

 pool of water and save only those that sink. 

 The ones that float contain partly or wholly 

 formed young and are thrown away. If the 

 men intend to stay near the breeding-place for 

 a few days, they destroy all the eggs so that a 

 fresh lot may be laid for them to appropriate. 



Nesting murres and auks are shot or killed 

 with clubs. Most of these birds are eaten, but 

 nesting gulls, terns, and cormorants are often 

 shot for the cruel pleasure and practice of the 

 sport and left where they fall. It is almost 

 inconceivable that men should destroy such 

 exquisite creatures as terns and gulls without 

 even intending to pick them up and look at 

 them, and it is a sad commentary on humanity 

 that such "sport" — God save the mark! — is 

 not infrequently indulged in by men of educa- 

 tion and supposed refinement. I have known 

 men of this class to hold up their hands in hor- 

 ror at an ornithologist who had shot a small 

 bird for the distinct object of study and of 

 addition to human knowledge. Another cruel 

 sport that is frequently practiced by thought- 

 less people is the firing of guns near rookeries 



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