ABRAHAM H. BATES. 119 
These are a few of the song-birds’ enemies that should be 
pointed out by the faithful teacher. It is the teacher’s duty 
to arouse in our children a healthy and righteous sense of 
indignation against evil-doers; for children should learn to 
abhor as well as to love. Some of these enemies should be 
especially condemned. How many a cruel wretch prowls 
about as a pretended egg-collector! At his heels comes 
the specimen-collector, shot-gun in hand and cruelty in his 
heart. Neither does science demand nor humanity permit 
the wholesale slaughter and robbery of birds. Next let me 
mention the House Sparrow, sometimes incorrectly called the 
English Sparrow. He is an enemy of nearly all our most valu- 
able song-birds. Already the Purple Martin, once numerous, 
is now almost extinct in some localities. His box, once the 
centre of song and joyous motion, is now occupied by the 
screeching scavenger foolishly introduced from the old world, 
which takes possession of every available nesting-place, and 
crowds out song-birds that are unable to defend themselves. 
The proofs of these charges against the House Sparrow are 
convincing to every unprejudiced mind. 
As to the egg-destroying propensity of Jays and Crows, all 
naturalists agree. The Jay, however, is much the worse of 
the two, owing to his bold and familiar ways. 
Let every school-girl learn how nefarious it is to kill birds 
for their plumage to be worn as some barbarous chief wears 
the scalps he captures. 
These lessons can be made most interesting and profitable 
during May and June, when birds may be seen to advantage 
and when the teacher should take pupils to the groves and 
fields for the purpose of making observations. The result 
would be most happy; they all would acquire habits of 
closer observation and a greater love of the true, the beauti- 
ful, and the good. Days spent with birds would be red- 
letter days, exuberant with beauty and tonic with the ozone 
of moral, physical and intellectual vigor—days looked for- 
ward to with pleasure, and looked back upon with happiest 
