1 4 
NATURE NOTES 
interests, and its importance is becoming more generally appreciated. The 
sportsman who values birds chiefly for the pleasure derived from their pursuit as 
game, the market hunter who hunts them solely for profit, the farmer who regards 
them in the light of their relation to agriculture, and the many persons of every 
class who derive enjoyment from their presence, are all interested in the question 
of their preservation Still bird destruction is going on rapidly in the 
United States, and in many regions there is a marked decrease in the abundance 
of certain species. Cheap guns, lax laws, the mania for collecting and shooting, 
and more especially the enormous demand for birds for the market and for the 
millinery trade, are responsible for this reduction in bird life. . . . 
“The general term ‘plume birds’ is used to include not only the herons, 
which are killed for their nuptial plumes, but a number of water birds which are 
used for decorative purposes, such as pelicans, terns, gulls and grebes. The 
snowy heron furnishes the well-known aigrettes ; pelicans supply quills and 
breasts ; gulls and terns are worn in great numbers on hats ; while grebes’ 
breasts, besides being used for trimming hats, are also made into muffs, collarettes 
and capes. There is an enormous demand for plume birds by the millinery trade 
in years when they are in fashion, and the localities where the birds breed are 
scoured by hunters, who find a ready market for the skins at prices varying from 
ten to fifty cents apiece. As these birds all nest in colonies, it is a simple matter 
to destroy large numbers on the breeding grounds, and so thoroughly is the work 
done that some of the species, particularly the egrets and terns, have been almost 
exterminated along the southern and eastern coasts of the United States. 
“ The value of herons, terns and grebes is not generally appreciated, and even 
the services of the gulls as scavengers are recognised in comparatively few places. 
As a result birds of plume, being neither game, song nor ‘insectivorous,’ are not 
protected by ordinary game laws unless by chance they happen to be mentioned 
in the list of protected species. Thus, by a curious perversity of circumstances, 
the species which are killed most mercilessly and in the greatest numbers are the 
very ones which are accorded the least protection.” 
During the last five years there has been a steady growth in public sentiment 
in favour of bird protection. 
The Audubon Calendar for 1903. Audubon Society, 234, Berkeley Street, Boston, 
U.S.A. Price 50 cents. 
This is a re-issue of the same six large coloured plates of American birds as 
were used for the 1902 calendar. They were excellent and well worth the price ; 
but we wish the Society would see its way to issuing a fresh series each year, 
so that in time its members might have a complete series of American bird- 
portraits. 
The Butterflies and Moths of Em ope. By W. F. Kirby. Parts 15 and 16. 
Cassell and Co. Price 7d. net each. 
Reaching the thirtieth plate, we hesitate over each in succession as to whether 
it is not better than all its predecessors. 
Received: The Animal World for November and December; The Na- 
turalist, 'The Naturalist' s Journal , 'The Irish Naturalist, The Humanitarian, 
The Animals' Friend, Our Animal Friends, and The Agricultural Economist 
for December. 
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES AND QUERIES. 
A Plea for the Mole. — A writer in the Daily News of December 6 says 
that “ farmers owning much pasture land do not speak highly of the mole.” 
That is quite true ; there is a venerable and obstinate prejudice to be overcome, 
but facts are facts, and text-books and works of reference clearly prove that the 
mole is not a destructive animal. 
M. Flourens states that the mole, if not exclusively, is essentially carnivorous, 
and probably the most voracious eater in the animal kingdom. He feeds on 
worms, snails, slugs, caterpillars, cockchafer grubs, and many other subterranean 
