76 



BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



IN THE COURTS. 



London. — At the Lambeth Police Court, on 

 April 24th, two labourers were ordered to pay 40s. 

 each for birdcatching in Dulwich Park. They had 

 a decoy bird and the usual accessories. The Park 

 constable said the authorities were a good deal 

 troubled with men of this class at this time of 

 year. 



An Old Ford man, convicted of using nets and 

 decoy birds for taking wild birds near Wanstead 

 Park on April nth, said he was very sorry for 

 what had occurred. Mr. Burnett Tabrum : " Very 

 sorry you're caught, you mean. Five shillings and 

 costs." Declaring that he had no money, defendant 

 was sent to prison for seven days, and the constable 

 was directed to take the birds into the forest and 

 let them fly. 



Middlesex. — At Brentford, on March 15th, 

 Henry Johnson and George Thompson were fined 

 20s. each for using snares to take wild birds. 

 Snares and decoy bird to be forfeited. They had 

 a chaffinch in a cage, and also a stuffed decoy 

 and a limed twig. 



Hertfordshire. — Henry Wiseman, a Luton 

 dealer, was fined £1 at the Hitchin Petty Sessions 

 for catching birds at Hexton on April 7th, and for 

 cruelty to a decoy linnet, described as " improperly 

 braced." The birds (greenfinch and ten linnets) 

 were released from the court window, but the nets 

 were returned to defendant. 



Surrey. — On April 29th the Croydon Bench 

 ordered Charles Beadle, of Addiscombe, to pay 

 7s. 6d. costs for using a decoy bird and lime for 

 catching wild birds. The Chairman (Mr. T. Bad- 

 deley) said they were determined to put a stop to 

 this practice, and had defendant caught a bird he 

 would have been dealt with very differently, 



Leeds. — At Leeds, on March 7th, a birdcatcher 

 known locally as the "linnet king" was fined 40s. 

 and costs for cruelty to decoy green linnets. The 

 birds were tethered with string, and one had its leg 

 broken. The Stipendiary said bird-catching was 

 one of the most barbarous pursuits in which a man 

 could engage. 



Nottingham. — Four Nottingham bird-dealers 

 were summoned on May 5th, for having recently- 

 taken wild birds in their possession. The prosecu- 

 tion was conducted by the R.S.P.C.A., whose 

 inspector had visited the bird-market. The birds, 

 he said, flew and fluttered about the cages in a 

 frightened way, like newly-caught birds, and the 

 linnets had the red on the breast which disappeared 

 in captivity ; one of the men admitted having been 

 out bird-catching on the previous Thursday. The 

 defence was that the birds were not newly taken, 

 and it was further urged that they were in such 

 " little bits of cages " it was impossible to say 

 whether they fluttered or not. Eventually the 

 Bench dismissed the summonses. 



cu- 



.oencn dismissed tne summonses. 



Brighton. — Birdcatchers continue partis 

 larly busy near Brighton, and Inspector Waters, 

 R.S.P.C.A., continues busy catching the offenders. 

 On April 7th, at the Borough Bench, Thomas 

 Gander was summoned for having 119 newly- 

 caught linnets in his possession. The birds, 



packed in two boxes, were taken by defendant to 

 Brighton Station, consigned to the London bird 

 market, and were examined by Inspector Waters 

 They were much over-crowded ; 30 or 40 died, 

 and the Inspector liberated the remainder. The 

 fine amounted to 3d. per bird and costs, in all 

 £5 is. 3d. ; and Inspector Waters' action was 

 approved. On April 16th T. Gander and Henry 

 Dine, Jun., were fined £1 each and costs for 

 catching linnets at Roedale Farm. Nets and 

 decoys confiscated. On May 8th George and 

 Edward Dine were fined, the one 10s., the other 

 5s. and costs for netting linnets on George Dine's 

 allotment. Defendants had decoys, newly-caught 

 birds, and field-glasses in their possession. George 

 Dine was further fined £1 and costs for brutality 

 to a braced goldfinch, and Edward Dine 5s. and 

 costs for giving false name and address. Nets and 

 decoys forfeited. 



Cheshire. — Before the Oakmere County Bench, 

 on March 27th, James Simpson, gamekeeper to 

 Mr. Charles Bell, Norley Hall, was summoned for 

 shooting a heron on February 9th. After hearing 

 the evidence, the magistrates said the police had 

 done quite right in instituting the proceedings, but 

 they were satisfied the defendant committed the 

 offence in ignorance, and therefore he would be 

 dismissed with a caution. [Mr. J. Baddeley, J. P., 

 of Higher Broughton, writes to the Manchester 

 Guardian : " Ignorance, at the best, is a bad plea ; 

 but here we have a man who habitually carries 

 a gun, and yet neither he nor the master who pays 

 him has ever taken the slightest trouble to ascertain 

 the law as it affects their own business. The writer 

 would respectfully submit, as a magistrate, that 

 this want of knowledge was an aggravation, not a 

 palliation, of the offence, and that the defendant 

 deserved the infliction of the full penalty, if only 

 for his inexcusable and wilful ignorance of what he, 

 of all men, ought to have known. It is useless for 

 County Councils to obtain orders, it is useless for 

 the police to take proceedings, even in flagrant 

 cases, if this wretched excuse is to be accepted."] 



NEW LEAFLETS. 



In Preparation. 



The Bird of Paradise, with coloured illustration, re- 

 produced by permission from a picture by Miss 

 Hadden. 



A Letter to Public Schoolboys. By Sir Hereward 

 Wake, Bart. 



Next Issue. — The next Number of Bird Notes 



and News will be ready on Oct. 1st, 1905. 



Reading Cases for Bird Notes and News can be 

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