THE ATLANTIC SLOPE NATURALIST. 



55 



few years will be absolutely annihi- 

 lated. 



If a person is to study birds with 

 the shotgun, such person should be 

 discrete and have a very complete 

 knowledge of all previously recorded 

 species. He should be able to study 

 by note first, and then, if advisable 

 — with a shotgun. 



I am heartily in accord with Mr. 

 Justice's opinion in respect to indis- 

 criminate slaughter. Mr. Justice is 

 a man of* knowledge, scientific attain- 

 ments and discretion. Undoubtedly, 

 lie would know a rare species when he 

 saw it. But there are thousands and 

 thousands of birds killed every year 

 that are not of a "new" species, by 

 "amateurs" — and some others that 

 profess to greater attainments. 



I do not believe, however, that in 

 any case it is necessary to slay a bird, 

 in order to make a "careful examina- 

 tion and closer inspection." I have 

 secured a great many rare species with 

 the aid of a net after a careful study 

 of their habits for two or three days 

 (this, of course, in the nesting season 

 when they do not fly far). Some I have 

 succeeded in taming and "domesticat- 

 ing" to a remarkable degree by keep- 

 ing them in natural environments in 

 a small area enclosed by cotton net- 

 ting. Some I have kept for one or 

 two years and have raised young- 

 birds. Others it was necessary, owing 

 to their habits, to liberate after I had 

 made a complete examination. And 

 in this way they were in no wise 

 injured. 



In no case do I consider it justifiable 

 to kill birds which have young. They 

 should be killed, if at all, before the 

 eggs are hatched or after the young 

 are able to take care of themselves. 

 In fact, I have never but once cap- 

 tured any form or species of bird under 

 other conditions. I find it very profit- 

 able to study the young birds and the 

 habits of the old ones by staying in 

 their vicinity for a few days. A good 

 field glass is an invaluable aid in this 



study, in fact it is nearly indispensi- 

 ble to a comprehensive 1 study of orni- 

 thology. 



Wishing you and the magazine con- 

 tinuous and increasing prosperity, 

 I am, my dear sir, 



Yours very truly, 



J. R. Barton. 



MR. FRANK BRUEN ON COLLECTING. 



Bristol, Conn., Aug. 11, 1903. 

 \V. E. Rotzell, M. D., Narberth, Pa. 



Dear Sir : I enclose 50 cents for 

 The Atlantic Slope Naturalist. 



I hope to see it take a decided stand 

 against the killing of rare specimens 

 — anywhere — except when especially 

 commissioned for some for the public 

 collections. 



The barter of birds, eggs and nests 

 (taken before the birds have left them) 

 is essentially wrong in my opinion — 

 because it is unnecessary with the great 

 number of good collections all over the 

 land. 



It is no wonder that rare birds soon 

 become extinct in a region — when the 

 birds are shot and the eggs stolen — 

 because the finder has not the patience 

 to use a glass instead of a gun. 



That the glass can be used, one of 

 your correspondents in No. 3, shows 

 conclusively. He found the nest of a 

 mourning warbler and shot the female ; 

 supposing it the only one in that re- 

 gion, he destroyed the chance of finds 

 in other years — whereas there might 

 otherwise have been several nests and 

 in a few years the species might have 

 become fairly abundant. His second 

 would have been all right — and it w T as 

 more necessary that* the bird should 

 live than that it should have been 

 taken that particular year. Let him 

 get the specimen when it can be 

 spared. 



But my point is this. A short time 

 afterwards this same person found a 

 Connecticut warbler's nest, and studied 

 the bird, either with or without a 

 glass ana did not collect, as I under- 

 stand. He says the Connecticut warbler 



