8 
FOREST AND STREAM 
July 5, 1913 
poses is used to any extent in the millinery trade. 
On the other hand, we would call attention to 
the fact that Hon. William L. Finley, game 
warden of the State of Oregon, found that the 
Chinese pheasants, which have been acclimated 
in that State, were being killed out of season 
for the feather trade. He found that the plum¬ 
age of the cock Chinese pheasant in good con¬ 
dition was worth $7.50 in the local market of 
Portland, which was far in excess of what the 
dead bird would bring in the market a few 
months later. 
Second, the amendment would allow the im¬ 
portation of the feathers of birds killed as pests. 
No authority, however, is cited as to who 
shall determine what may be regarded as pests. 
Clearly this matter would he left largely to the 
discretion of the man who desires to kill pest 
birds and dispose of their feathers for com¬ 
mercial purposes. There is practically no limit 
to the privileges which this would give to those 
people engaged in commercializing the plumage 
of wild birds. We have known men in the 
Southern States who hired their sons to shoot 
mockingbirds, because these birds ate grapes arid 
were, therefore, regarded as pests. Similarly 
jays and woodpeckers are considered pests by 
some farmers, because they occasionally attack 
the corn in the milk. Catbirds, robins and others 
of the thrush and thrasher families are regarded 
as pests by some strawberry growers, and are 
killed accordingly. Herons, egrets and king¬ 
fishers are frequently declared pests by men who 
are interested in fish hatcheries. Among other 
pests in the minds of people of whom we have 
personal knowledge are the shrikes, warblers, 
crows, blackbirds of all varieties, hawks, fal¬ 
cons, owls, eagles, vultures, pelicans, sea gulls 
of all species and terns. Think of the thou¬ 
sands of birds throughout the world that can 
easily be killed as pests by interested parties and 
their feathers legally brought to this country if 
the Clapp amendment to Schedule “N” should be 
adopted. 
A great crisis in the cause of bird protec- j 
tion is now squarely before the American peo- 1 
pie. Let everyone who cares for wild life write 1 
or wire his Senator at once, asking that this ; 
amendment proposed by the finance committee 
shall be killed. There is not a moment to spare. 
Advertising the Story of the Aigrette. 
The success of employing sandwich men to 
parade London streets with placarded represen¬ 
tation of the “Story of the Aigrette, led the 
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to re¬ 
peat the experiment during the time of shopping 
for last Christmas. The men paraded the West- 
End from December 10 to 23, attracting much 
attention. 
BIRD KILLING IN GEORGIA ( 1912 ). 
This colored man and white boy had just killed nearly 100 robins 
on the morning of the day when this photograph was taken. The 
man has a few robins in his hand. The boy has a large game bag 
well filled with them. 
Photograph by W. W. Grant, of the National Association of 
Audubon Societies. 
BIRD KILLING IN CONNECTICUT ( 1910 ). 
Twelve robins, three jays, three flickers, two hermit thrushes, and 
one purple finch, found on an Italian by the Fairfield county game 
warden, Wilbur F. Smith, of South Norwalk, Conn. The Italian had 
no gun. Had a copy of the bird law. The birds were intended for 
a restaurant in New York City. 
Photograph by Warden Smith. 
Protection of Wild Birds. 
Millions of small birds in migration are 
destroyed yearly by the people of the Southern 
States and used as foods. This destruction, pic¬ 
tured above and on the page preceding, now 
increasing, is having serious effect on the num¬ 
bers of song birds in the North. Negroes are 
armed with guns, and many are proficient in 
other means of destruction. In the North also 
large numbers of foreign laborers coming from 
Europe kill small birds for food. It is only 
recently that little birds were sold in large 
quantities in New York city, and they are still 
sold by thousands in the South. 
The Audubon societies, which have already 
checked the killing of native birds for millinery 
purposes, now purpose to stop the slaughter of 
song birds for food in this country. This is 
a stupendous task. It must be done by educat¬ 
ing the public through the schools, the press and 
the clergy, and by securing better laws and bet¬ 
ter enforcement of the laws now on the statute 
books. The sum of $100,000 is needed now for 
this purpose. The scarcity of robins, bluebirds 
and bobolinks is becoming noticeable over wide 
areas. The annual fee for sustaining member¬ 
ship in the National Association of Audubon 
Societies is five dollars, or you may become a 
life member by paying one hundred dollars, the 
interest of which will be used perpetually for 
bird protection. If you cannot contribute money, 
can you not suggest the names of others who 
may? Even a word of encouragement will be 
appreciated. 
Checks may be drawn in favor of the Na¬ 
tional Association of Audubon Societies and 
sent care of Forest and Stream. 
