140 
HISTORICAL PART 
birds of passage from Aug. 15 till March 31; 
swimming and shore birds from Aug. 15 till April 15; 
quails from Aug. 15 till May 15: but, from April 15 till 
May 15, only at a distance of one kilometre from the sea- 
shore and only with fire-armsr 
Which means that all birds of passage are given over to 
their fate just in autumn and spring, the periods of passage. 
„Tabella A" annexed to the Game Laws enumerates all 
instruments with which, in return for a certain fee, birds may 
be taken: among these are the „Roccolo'', the „Pressanella'', 
all traps and nets, closed as well as open, removable ones 
as well as those fixed to a particular spot, suitable for the 
taking of tiny birds. In brief: ..Permesso di caccia con reti 
aperte e copertoni, solchetti fissi o vaganti agli uccelletii^. 
Here the lofty words of Horatius are out of place; they 
should be replaced by the words of Dante: 
„Lasciate ogni speranza . . 
But perhaps there is some hope, for everybody would 
believe that the same Monarch who conceived the idea of an 
International Agricultural Institute, will advocate the rights of 
the farmers' best friends, the useful little birds. 
Yet we must unfortunately admit that, at the first meeting 
of the International Agricultural Institute at Rome in May— June, 
1905, the Hungarian delegate. Count Robert Zselenszky, 
despite the support afforded his proposal by delegates of 
high standing, and notwithstanding his every exertion, could 
not succeed in having the question of the protection of birds 
put on the order of the day. The President displayed won- 
derful ingenuity in evading the question. 
Now there can be no doubt that the question of the 
protection of birds cannot be settled all along the line, inter- 
nationally and to the advantage of the agriculture of Europe 
as well as in the interests of humanitarianism, without the 
