248 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



to success is a true Calvary. It is our evident duty to carry 

 out the work of " ornitho-phaenological " observation. In this task 

 I count, in the first place, on the ornithologists of England, the 

 heirs of Derham, a man who, as far back as two centuries ago, 

 busied himself with the science of observation. What is required 

 of us is to throw into the balance a sense of duty, courage, and 

 unbending resolution. 



Before closing, however, I must take into account the realistic 

 tendency of the time. We often hear the question asked, what 

 can a knowledge of the migration of birds profit us ? The profit 

 is a twofold one : 



1. The solution of the problem is in the interest of science, 

 therefore of intellectual progress ; consequently the highest profit 

 of mankind. 



2. Only the solution of the problem can give us a correct 

 notion of the great part that birds of migration play in the 

 household of nature. 



The millions of birds which, season after season, wander from 

 one zone to the other represent an enormous aggregate of labour ; 

 and this not only by their flight itself, but by their search for 

 food. This labour and the search for food act in the organic 

 life of nature as does the regulator of a steam-engine, at one 

 time accelerating, at another retarding. By migration this 

 labour is transferred from one zone to the other ; it is indis- 

 pensable, and can only be performed by the birds, whose bodily 

 structure corresponds in many respects to peculiar tools. 



A full insight into the essence of the work done by birds will 

 give us a correct notion of their usefulness or injuriousness to 

 man, and lead us to rational action for their protection. A clear 

 conception of the masses of birds in question may be gathered 

 from an inspection of the hecatombs of winged creatures which 

 year by year during migration shatter their heads in contact 

 with lighthouses. 



I thank you, gentlemen, for the patience and indulgence with 

 which you have listened to my remarks. 



