Wild Birds in Belation to Agricitlhtrc. 
32 G 
day such communicatioTis as that admirable letter you give us this morning 
“ on the destruction of hawks in relation to the Scotch plague of (voles) 
mice.” Only the other day I read — headed “ Sparrow Crusade ” — the 
members of the Epping Sparrow Club killed no fewer than 6,000 sparrows. 
Again I read on the 2;3rd of last month : — “ Lord Spencer appeals to farmers 
to discontinue the practice of scattering poison to kill rooks ; numbers of 
rooks and jackdaws had been picked up, and analysis showed they had been 
poisoned by strychnine.” Such notices from the every-day Press might be 
multiplied ad nauseam. 
I question whether there exists in England a scientific ornithologist who 
has studied economic ornithology from an agricultural standpoint. If such 
a one exists, I pray him to come forward, because we would gladly commis- 
sion a competent scientist to -m-ite an initiatory paper on this pressing sub- 
ject for the Journal of the Iloyal Agricultural Society. 
I have been in communication witli the head-quarters of English Orni- 
thology, but did not obtain there much encouragement. It is most provoking 
to turn to the recognised text-books on ornithology, only to find vague and 
agriculturally useless statements such as this — “ The food of this .species (of 
birds) consists,” of certain known things, “ together with insects, pupm, and 
larvpe.” Now, economic ornithology to be of practical use should surely tell 
us exactly what the pupae and larv.m are, and what, in the absence of the 
bird factor, the pupae and larvae might have become. So also in regard to 
the vegetable food found in the crops of common birds, economic ornitho- 
logy .should give agriculturists precise^ — that is, scientific — information. 
I’ully sympathising with the spirit which dictated Sir Herbert Maxwell’s 
before-mentioned letter to you, I am moved to ask of your courtesy to allow 
me publicly to appeal to scientific ornithologists to help agriculture and the 
Journal Committee of the Iloyal Agricultural Society in regard to applied 
ornithology. And I would venture further to suggest to the many v.aluable 
scientific societies in the country towns of England — societies which have 
already produced great men — that a new and most interesting field for invalu- 
able open-air study may be found in an agriculturally economic ornithological 
investigation into the habits and migrations of common English birds. 
The result of some correspondence, conversation, and con- 
sideration brought me to tlie conclusion that, instructed by the 
labours of a former generation of able authors, we should hope to 
found a small school of Economic Ornithology, recruited from 
amongst the many able young men who have passed out of the 
various agricultural colleges, many of whom might have ornitho- 
logical tastes, and all of them who have graduated in honours 
should have at least a competent knowledge of the elements of 
the essential and cognate arts and sciences, the principal of wdiich 
sciences would necessarily be Entomology. Above all things 'we 
want open-air naturalists. Long ago a school of Agricultural 
Chemistry became essential ; it produced amongst others Sir John 
Lawes and my late friend Dr. Voelcker. So also in regard to 
Agricultural Entomology : there was a void, a demand, and we 
have the unselfish, unsparing honorary services of Miss Ormerod, 
who has made this applied science herown, vastly benefited British 
agriculture, and has established for herself a European, a world- 
wide reputation. 
