398 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



organization and the various State Audubon Societies caused these 

 laws to be more or less vigorously enforced, and the trade in native 

 birds declined proportionately. Supplies were still obtained, however, 

 from States that had not adopted modern laws, and the export trade to 

 Europe continued brisk. One by one these remaining strongholds 

 were carried by the forces of bird protection, until finally, in 1904, 

 Louisiana, the only State left from which birds were procurable, 

 adopted the model law, and now. beyond a few surreptitious and 

 illegal shipments, the domestic and foreign trade in native American 

 birds has been entirely abolished. Occasionally a small consignment 

 of Mocking-birds or Cardinals is smuggled to Hamburg or some other 

 European port, but the life of the trade is gone. 



" Traffic in Foreign Birds. — The importation of foreign cage-birds 

 has grown to its present proportion, not only in this country, but in 

 Europe as well, within the last fifty years. Up to the middle of the 

 last century, apart from Parrots and some other of the larger species, 

 few birds were imported into Europe, and as late as 1860 only about 

 sixty different kinds of foreign birds were brought in, and these in 

 moderate numbers. But about this time a rapid increase began, and 

 by 1880 the species imported approximated seven hundred, and the 

 individuals from 500,000 to 800,000. The Japanese Eobin, a favourite 

 cage-bird of to-day, was first brought to the London Zoological 

 Gardens in 1886, and the Shell Parrakeet of Australia, now one of the 

 best known of exotic birds, and sold wholesale in London for about 

 $1.37 a pair, was first brought to England by Gould in 1840, and for 

 the next ten years commanded $100 to $125 a pair. 



" In the United States the growth of importation has undergone a 

 similar development, lagging, however, slightly behind the European 

 growth. In both cases the sudden invasion of the markets by foreign 

 birds was due to the advantages of quick transportation. When 

 supplies from distant lands were brought by sailing vessels but few 

 birds survived the long voyages. But the steamship afforded oppor- 

 tunity for conveying birds with speed and safety, and dealers were 

 quick to avail themselves of the changed conditions. As long ago as 

 186.5 there was a brisk American trade in foreign cage-birds of all 

 kinds, and by 1880 this had so increased that a single dealer in New 

 York City handled 70,000 Canaries each season. 



" Number of Birds bnported. — The decline in the trade in domestic 

 cage-birds has doubtless stimulated the trade in foreign cage-birds, 

 which advanced from 235,433 imported under permit of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture in the year ending June 30th, 1902, to 322.297 



