THE 
PROTECTION OF WILD BIRDS IN INDIA. 
HE first movement towards the pro¬ 
tection of wild birds in India was 
■ a proposal to carry through an Act 
for the preservation of game. This 
subject was considered and debated 
on by the Government of India, 
in communication with local ad¬ 
ministrations, in the years 1869-72, 
and the outcome of the long drawn discussion 
was, that the Imperial Government decided 
“ that such legislation was neither necessary 
nor desirable.” It would be futile to enter into 
the explanations given for this decision, as the 
real reasons in such cases do not always come 
to the surface. The Government of Madras, it is recorded, did not 
approve of this verdict on so important a subject, and on appeal, 
some years later, the Supreme Government so far relaxed their 
previous ruling, as to sanction, in 1879, an Act “ to provide for the 
protection of game and acclimatized fish in the district of the 
Nilgiris,” in the Southern Presidency. 
The area thus protected consists of a vast mountain range, with 
an approximate measurement of 725 square miles, of which 678 
square miles are undulating table-land, with numerous “ sholas ” 
(or wooded ravines), at an average elevation of 6500 feet above the 
sea. Here the scenery is grand and beautiful beyond description, 
