98 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
shaped fine-habited trees, the plants raised from them will fully maintain 
this superior habit. It is therefore very desirable only to propagate from 
such as these. 
Bicton. James Barnes. 
NATIVE SINGING BIRDS. 
We have received through the post an anonymous circular pleading in 
behalf of “ our indigenous singing birds.” In a postscript the sender 
remarks, “I hope you will help me in my endeavour to save our singing 
birds.” Beautiful creatures ! you have and always have had our sympathies, 
and bold indeed must be the hand that would venture to molest you 
in our domain. Your gay flutterings impart life; your joyous warblings 
music to the otherwise still though beautiful scenes of the shrubbery and 
flower garden. What is the country in spring time without birds ? The 
carolling of the lark in the early morning, the charms of song rising con¬ 
tinually throughout the day, and the whistling of the blackbird carried far 
into the “ gloamin,” are no mean sources of enjoyment to those who can 
appreciate the charms of a country life. More than this, it appears to us 
that birds have their right of inheritance, as we have ours ; and while we 
would jealously guard our own—the fruits of our labour, we believe that 
we can do this without destroying theirs. In other words, that there is room 
for both of us in this wide, wide world. 
Is it true, as is alleged, that our singing birds are diminishing in number, 
or are they merely changing their locality—quitting the immediate vicinity 
of large cities, where the craftsman is so rapidly destroying their means of 
shelter and food, to find in the distant woodlands and hedgerows a more 
natural and congenial home ? The writer of the paper in question asserts 
that small birds are actually diminishing, falling a prey to the gunner, 
being shot in mere wantonness, principally by boys, for what in their lack 
of wisdom they call “ sport.” Sport, indeed ! we do not envy the breast 
that can make sport out of the sufferings and death of even the meanest of 
God’s creatures. To kill for food, to kill in self-defence is justifiable, but 
to kill for mere “ sport ” is, to our apprehension, most blameworthy ; and 
while we would plead for the feathered songsters on the ground of tlieir life, 
their beauty, and their melody, we think we can establish a strong case in 
their behalf on utilitarian grounds alone. Some years ago a mania took 
possession of the French farmers, and the destruction of birds was carried 
on with a cruel success. Myriads of insects immediately infested the country, 
which all the ingenuity of man was incapable of contending with, and 
equally strong efforts had to be resorted to, though with slow T success, to 
rehabilitate the birds so ruthlessly destroyed. Corroborative of this we 
would point to the swarms of caterpillars in the hedgerows and gardens 
round London of late years, and ask, Is not this reasonably attributable to 
the diminution in the number of our small birds ? 
On the other hand, we know by bitter experience how vexatious it is to 
have our fruits injured or destroyed before fit for gathering—to have our 
seed-beds scratched over immediately that the seed is carefully and labori¬ 
ously committed to the ground, or the springing germ destroyed apparently 
in mere wantonness. And to this we are certainly in no humour to submit. 
But is there no remedy but death to the destroyer ? Cannot w r e devise 
means of shutting off the depredators by means of netting, thereby effectually 
