590 
FOREST AND STREAM 
May io, 1913 
A New Campaign 
To Stop tlie Importation of Wild Birds’ 
Plomage for Millinery. 
[From Zoological Society Bulletin for May.] 
Fully one hundred species of the most 
beautiful and curious birds of the world are now 
being exterminated to meet the demands of the 
feather trade, for plumes, feathers and skins to 
use on the hats of thoughtless women. If the 
American women of society and of fashion 
could be made to know the details of this trade, 
and what it means, they would be among the 
first to support the movement for the protec¬ 
tion of birds from the feather trade. The 
Stories published by the Audubon Societies, of 
the starvation of egret nestlings through the 
slaughter of parent birds, are incontestably 
true, and those telling of the extermination of 
certain birds of paradise are also true. 
Remember that the feather trade is attack¬ 
ing the existence of an immense variety of 
birds, ranging from the condors and vultures, 
egrets, hawks, owls, birds of paradise and emus, 
down to the pheasants, ducks, callistes and hum¬ 
ming-birds. No beautiful bird is spared unless 
fully protected by law. 
The New York Zoological Society is 
strongly and permanently opposed to this 
slaughter. It challenges the right of the feather 
trade to exterminate the most beautiful birds of 
the world for millinery purposes. It objects to 
bird slaughter in New Guinea just as strongly 
as to bird slaughter in Florida! Every civilized 
nation has a duty in this matter which can¬ 
not be ignored. 
On Jan. 30, the Executive Committee of the 
Society asked the Ways and Means Committee 
of Congress to incorporate in the new tariff 
bill, now being framed, a provision that will 
absolutely stop the feather-millinery traffic 
throughout the United States. The argument, 
brief and exhibits of the Society’s representa¬ 
tive appear in full in “Tariff Hearings No. 23.” 
The full text of the Zoological Society's 
proposed provision is as follows: 
At the end of Section No. 438 of the new 
Tariff Law. add the following: 
“Provided, That the importation of 
aigrettes, egret plumes or ‘osprey’ plumes, and 
the feathers, quills, heads, wings, tails, skins 
or parts of skins, of wild birds, either raw or 
manufactured and not for scientific or educa¬ 
tional purposes, is hereby prohibited; but this 
provision shall not apply to the feathers or 
plumes of ostriches, or to the feathers of do¬ 
mestic fowls of any kind.’’ 
On April 7 the new Tariff bill that was pre¬ 
sented to Congress contained this clause. 
The Society is now endeavoring to place 
before the American people an impressive sum¬ 
mary of facts regarding the awful extent and 
destructiveness of the feather trade. A large 
four-page circular, filled with information, has 
gone to every State, and that portion of the 
newspaper press which pays attention to the 
needs of wild life has been asked to assist in 
spreading the facts. We are asking the people 
to make their wishes known to Congress, and 
particularly to members of the House of Rep¬ 
resentatives. 
It is important that all the world should 
know that at least too species oi the most 
beautiful and most curious birds of the world 
are being exterminated for the feather trade. 
Unfortunately, there is not the slightest exag¬ 
geration in this statement. No wild-bird species 
that is pursued and killed for valuable plumage 
can possibly escape ultimate extinction. Even 
the countless millions of the passenger pigeon 
went down before the guns, clubs and nets of 
the market-hunters, and only one bird now re¬ 
mains alive. 
Eor years the Royal Society (of London) 
for the Protection of Birds, aided by James 
Buckland, has besieged the British Parliament 
for a law to stop the London traffic in the 
plumage of wild birds. • While considerable 
progress has been made, success has not yet 
been attained because of the fierce opposition 
of the feather trade, backed by the Chamber of 
Commerce! “The Trade’’ wants the money! 
In America several States have stopped the 
sale of the plumage of North American birds 
for milliners’ use. but the sale of such foreign 
birds as birds of paradise still goes on gen¬ 
erally! This is entirely wrong. 
We have asked Congress to take the action 
that will forever wash our hands of the blood 
of these beautiful creatures, so far as millinery 
is concerned. The National Association of 
Audubon Societies is with us—or we are with 
it, whichever it may be! Australia has already 
enacted such a law as we are asking for. In 
that country the national watchword is “Ad¬ 
vance, Australia!’’ The Australians have done 
so. and we are sorry we were not the first to 
reach the goal. 
The cause is a great one—well worth striv¬ 
ing for. It is worth while to work for a cause 
that, when successful, sweeps a shame and an 
abuse from half a continent! While the matter 
is not so great as the migratory bird bill, it is 
still so great, so far-reaching and so admirable 
when done that it may well claim the attention 
and the efforts of the best people of America. 
The time has now arrived when every 
American woman, and also every man. who de¬ 
sires to strike a hard blow in defense of the 
persecuted birds of the world can do so. It can 
be delivered by writing in behalf of the So¬ 
ciety’s provision, directly and immediately, to 
all members of Congress outside the State of 
New York. New York members need no urging. 
Think what it would mean to end. for the 
whole United States, by only six lines of national 
law, the disgraceful bird-slaughter that now is 
going on in response to the demands of the 
traders in American fashions! 
Of course, the National Milliners’ Associa¬ 
tion will vigorously oppose our measure. It 
will denounce it as “unconstitutional,” “confis¬ 
catory,” “class legislation” and “oppressive.” 
We expect all that, and more. Possibly one- 
tenth of one per cent, of the American people 
will be represented by that opposition; but will 
they prevail against the 99.9 per cent, who are 
firmly opposed to bird slaughter for the enrich¬ 
ment of “the feather trade”? 
Ask your Congressmen to maintain our 
clause, unchanged! 
Henry Eairfield Osborn, 
President New York Zoological Society. 
Madison Grant, 
Chairman Executive Committee. 
William T. Hornaday, 
Director New York Zoological Park. 
As to Carp Eating Trout Eggs. 
Alb.^ny, N. Y., May 3 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: In your issue of April 19, Verdi 
Burtch, of Branchport, asked if trout spawn 
ever had been found in a carp’s stomach. It 
seemed to me that I remembered a specimen 
jar in Dr. Bean’s collection when I was secre¬ 
tary of the old Pish and Game Commission, that 
contained a carp's stomach in which there were 
trout eggs among those of other species. I 
wrote Dr. Bean about this and his interesting 
answer says: 
“I do not remember an instance of finding 
trout spawn in a carp’s stomach, although I 
have no doubt that the carp will eat trout eggs 
just as readily as the rainbow trout and dolly 
varden trout and brook trout will eat eggs of 
other fishes as well as individuals of their own 
species. The yellow perch and the bullhead are 
inveterate destroyers of fish eggs of any species 
within reach. Some of the minnows and the 
suckers are also very destructive of spawn. 
“I doubt if I have seen the bottled specimen 
to which you refer, as I am not now in posses¬ 
sion of the old collections, but we had in the 
office in the Capitol a box of yellow perch caught 
in Keuka Lake, and in every perch stomach 
there were from 150 to 200 or more lake trout 
eggs. Our men took between 3,000 and 4,000 
yellow perch at one haul of a net over a lake 
trout spawning bed in that lake, showing a pro¬ 
bability of the loss of about a half million lake 
trout eggs on one bed in a single night through 
the depredations of the perch.” 
John D. Whish. 
Mastodon Skull Found in Indiana. 
A. C. Davison, a dredge owner of Roches¬ 
ter, Ind., has a complete mastodon skull which 
was uncovered by his dredge on the Charles 
Yankee farm. The skull, which is in a perfect 
state of preservation, measures about 27 by 19 
inches. Two oval-shaped teeth, one in either 
side of the lower jaw, carry their enamel al¬ 
most as well as in life. 
