March 12, 1886.1 



SCIENCE. 



241 



needed as a cover, was now turned back and pushed 

 away, the opening thereby being considerably en- 

 larged. More earth was subsequently placed over 

 and around it, until it was completely hidden, and 

 rendered useless. Before morning the true door had 

 attained the necessary size, and the lining had been 

 added to it; but the lining of the burrow was not en- 

 tirely completed until some days later. 



A piece cut from this door showed it to be a layer 

 of earth with a single lining; while an old nest which 

 came with the spider, and which she presumably made, 

 was provided with a door having nine linings, each of 

 the eight lower ones enclosing a rim of earth, by 

 which the door had been enlarged. 



Mary T. Palmer. 



The destruction of birds. 



^ In view of what has already been said regarding 

 the manifold ways in which our wild birds are being 

 effectually diminished, something more should be 

 added in reference to a practice which has long pre- 

 vailed in the southern tier of states, including Mary- 

 land. I refer to the systematic shooting of thousands 

 of song-birds iu spring and fall to satisfy a market 

 demand. In the city of Baltimore alone the destruc- 

 tion of robins forms a periodic business of no little 

 profit or extent. A visit to any of the large markets 

 at the seasons specified, where they are a constant 

 feature of the game-stalls, will verify this statement. 

 Rice-birds (bobolinks, as we know them farther 

 north), golden-winged woodpeckers, red-winged star- 

 lings, and cedar-birds (the last chiefly in winter) 

 share a like fate. 



Our complaint is directed against the destruction, 

 for purposes of food, of one and all these species, 

 but especially the robin. It may be legitimate to de- 

 stroy the rice-bird and starling at the time and place 

 of their devastation, but this does not sanction their 

 slaughter in districts where rice does not grow, and 

 the species are beneficial to crops. If practical or- 

 nithologists are not wholly in the wrong, it is neither 

 wise nor legitimate to destroy the robin under any 

 circumstances. The robin nests familiarly in and 

 about gardens and orchards in large numbers when 

 unmolested, rearing two and sometimes three broods, 

 of four or five young each, in the season ; and although 

 he makes raids oftentimes into the strawberries, 

 cherries, and ether small fruits, it is a cheap toll for 

 the incalculable services which he has previously 

 rendered. Instead, however, of being protected by 

 laws generally prevalent, they are but partially pro- 

 tected during their breeding-season in the north, to be 

 killed on the spring and fall migrations. 



Notwithstanding the great productiveness of a spe- 

 cies, its numbers must be very materially diminished 

 by the thousands, and probably tens of thousands, 

 annually shot down for the market. It should also 

 be remembered that the destruction of these birds in 

 spring is particularly fatal, since with each pair thus 

 killed we kill the possible young of the same year. 



The humau and brute enemies of the birds have 

 been amply alluded to, but I have seen no reference 

 to the trade in skins and eggs which has rapidly 

 grown up in the past few years. In obscure corners 

 of most cities of considerable size, persons may be 

 found who deal in birds' skins and eggs, old coins, 

 postage-stamps, and various other specialties, con- 

 ducting a largely juvenile trade through the post. 

 Their bulletins are now sown broadcast, especially 

 among the boys 1 boarding-schools of the country. 



They offer tempting exchanges, premiums in eggs 

 to the largest buyer, and give the price of eggs singly 

 or in ' sets.' In most cases there is no identification, 

 no date or locality given, so that the scientific value 

 is usually lost. With such educating influences as 

 these, how can we expect the thoughtless small boy, 

 and better class of older boys at schools, to regard 

 egg-nesting as any thing more than harmless employ- 

 ment, to be carried on as extensively as that of 

 stamp-collecting, only with much less method ? In 

 framing laws to protect the birds, would it not be 

 well to prohibit the sale of their eggs and skins for 

 all such amateur and pseudo-scientific purposes \ 



Furthermore, with all these human and brute ene- 

 mies with which our native birds have to contend, 

 what possible excuse can be found for adding a still 

 more deadly and effectual agent, — the business-like 

 slaughter of useful species for food ? If, indeed, the 

 game-market was understocked, other birds might be 

 had which are not to be commended as highly for 

 either song or utility. 



People who encourage this kind of traffic, in respect 

 to the robin at least, are either thoughtlessly or wil- 

 fully robbing our lawns and orchards of one of its 

 heartiest and most cheerful songsters, and agricul- 

 ture of an indispensable friend and ally. F. H. H. 



Baltimore, March 1. 



In a recent number of the Indianapolis Times there 

 appeared an article on bird destruction, contain- 

 ing the following extracts given by a well-known 

 taxidermist of that city. They will not only serve as 

 additional evidence of the destruction of birds for 

 personal adornment, but also bring into notice, in 

 this regard, a portion of our country which has not 

 yet been mentioned, and will give the evidence of 

 one who should be posted concerning that which he 

 tells. 



"It is a very inexpensive and simple thing to 

 mount birds for millinery purposes, and the number 

 who can engage in it is so large that no county in 

 the state is free from the ornithological murderer. 

 If the present rate of destruction is continued, which 

 is equivalent to saying that if the fashion in milli- 

 ner does not change, the state will be depopulated 

 of its birds in five years. I have lately spent whole 

 days in the woods without seeing a bird, except the 

 unspeakable sparrow. Last year there were shipped 

 from this city 5,000 bird-skins collected from the 

 Ohio valley, chiefly from Indiana. Now, suppose 

 that half of these birds were females : they would 

 lay, on an average, five eggs each in a season, — a 

 total of 12,500 eggs. Of these, 10.000 probably 

 would hatch. Added to the 5,000 birds killed, here 

 is represented a yearly T destruction of 15,000 birds, 

 — a sacrifice to fashion. 



"It is important to note that this represents only 

 the slaughter of the fashionable birds. Styles change. 

 A year ago blackbirds for women's hats were in 

 great demand, and thousands of them were killed. 

 Now there is no market for blackbirds. Each of the 

 5,000 birds sent out of the state during the year 1885 

 was in style ; that is, was either a jay, yellow-ham- 

 mer, cedar-bird, or an owl. These birds are shot 

 and skinned, and the skins allowed to dry before 

 shipment. One man to whom I sent birds this week 

 shipped 75,000 skins of American birds to France, 

 and each year he duplicates this shipment. But the 

 most of the American birds are sold at home. They 

 are sent to the Long Island factories, where the skins 



