Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1890-06-17
TIE BIRDS ON THE HATS.
A nIrHea SITTER ARRAiosMGsr o.
AfAp AND ITS FRIENDS.

A aSrHeR SITTER ABANDONMENT o.
AfAD AND IT'S FRIENDS.
Ra,sh.s,.s W-.d'-d. .s rA..ss.as .f B'ras
10 s~~a'. Their ris.sss-ksssssss fs.ss
D,s.s.., s..,.~s 70 sssv what the
rr.~t,e. Ns...
One ~ your esteemed contemporaries
hal an article recently on "Bird Plum
age on NOsncn'. Heads. which IL - mis-
leading and - favorable to the interests
OF the feather dealers that, ifit had BEEN
dictated by on. % tbo-s gentlemen. Il
could hardly have br.n more ~.
Dead birds mean dollars 10 the feather
dealer. AMI be would stihe the gush ~
song In the throat ~ the bobolink with
a. little oompunctlon a. he would crush
q mosquito. II u not to be supposed
that tbc-c men aru going to volunteer
any information that will injur, their
trade: on the contrary, it IL their part 90
.uppr,-- all unpleasant facts, and 90
sooth- and pat to sleep the conscientious
scruplcs - women on the subject ~
dead bird millinery. With your kind
permission will mention few facts for
Ga. benefit 10 your readers which will
rather disprO,e some pre-, iOus statements.
To- affirm that the domestic canary is
never u-.'l for millinery purpo-cs is un.
true. The writer saw q hat only short
time since with i've canarics upon u. ar.
ranged In such fantastic attitudes as TO
suggest the idea that the wear,r was a
III subject for the lunatic asylum. Either
Ne must bslieye what the feather dealers
tell IA. and di.ini.t the evidence 81 our
o~n ..nss--, az 49, must believe what the
l.ading orniihologi.t. of th. country
tell Va. and for my part ! prefer To b.-
lisye the latter. In 1880 the rage for
dead bard millinery hal reached a climax,
and the ornith0losist- Published report
showing the appalling destruction % our
-ong bard. to satisfy tie demand. ~ a
larlafoys aud dcmoraliIing fashion.
Th. rrI-rt saysi Prom carefully gath.
cred statistics Il - proved that on the
most mOlsrats calculation 5000. .OcO song
birls are annually required 30 illl the
demand for the ornamcntation of the
hat. q American women. The slaughter
u not confined to -ong birds. everything
that wears feathers Il a target Tor the
bird butcher. In a single SEASON 5000
terms wsrc Killed nj Cape Col for ct.
I.ortation. and the swamI- AMI marshes
~ Florida have bccn dcpopulaiej ~
their ~grrt. anil hcrons In one month
10000 bobolink. have bc.n killed.
near Philadelphia. and from single
Long I.lani village 5000 song birds
~er. supplied in a short time Ia Nes
York dealer. for millinery purIs-~s"
The aloye are only few extracts
from the rrport. but enough Ia show
shai the slaughter has bccn. and N
.ong birls arr hot used - much now on
hat n formerly. u is owing to the ~
straining influence - the Audubon so-
cicty. Til. socicty Is an outgrowth of
the COMMITTEES on bard protection of the
American Ornithologists union. AMI has
meml-r, today IN every state In the
UNION and In Canada.
Probably II the wcaTcr. % the plumcs
% the HOri'la cgrets knew at what co~t
th.-. plums- ate obtained. there would
b. L.. ti-inand for them. and A. women
a. often sin IN thu. matter from ignor-
ancc and want II thought a. frUm want
~ heart. it l. only right they should
know. 4 correspondent ~ The Audu-
bin Magazine lsec July numlsr. iss,D
write- from Pinccasil.. ia. a. follows;
Through my meandsrings watched
clo-sly for biri. AMI der. saw bat
few hundred birds. where formerly hai
-..n frum 1000 to 5000. met plenty
of hunters with buggies and wagons
losdcl with birl plumc-. The b'rds arr
killcl at a sca-on 10 tile year when they
ar, r-aring their young. On Passing the
rook.ric. where the hunters hA,l l-.n
few days previous. the screams aud call.
% the starving young biris were pitiful
o. hcar. Some ser. just hedgel. while
others verc ~ young that they could
make but little noiss. But all NUT In.
cyitably stafye to death. cannot de.
scribe the horror IL gave me- b. hear
the pitiful scream. of the dying little
birds
think your .ste,m~l contemporary
has got rather MIXED up In his onitho''
osy when be- sTcaks 81 the cedar bird a.
the nee bird which dee. - much injury
a. the croI- Ia the south. ~ that it, de-
siruction 4. rather benefit than other.
wise. hut quite understand his dr-criP
,ion ~ "bird cdccts." The way the birds
ARE torn up, and the different parts dis
tnbuicl upon hats. would IT, quit. Ia &C
corlance with the fitness - things In the
mind 81 a savage. but IL u an insult to the
taste AMI feeling - ci,ilizsd people.
On one hat !. a breast without head OF
boly, On another decapitat.d head
With glass eye. stars out from bstseen
les. OF the bird i smashed Hat, ,asif killed
with a slone-morr the po~ition IL would
take In u. diving agonic- than any pose
u could possibly assume In life. Still.
the outlook l. not ~ discOuraging n u
might H.. AMI people are beginning b.
realize the neccs.iiy Of more rigid laws
to protect birds other than those for food.
read IN The Savannah News ~ a rc-
cent date: The crane Is pusued vigor'
ously by the hunter. who tnds ready
market for the plumage, as the snow
white feathers are popular with the wo-
men of fashion. Plumage dealers In New
York have hunters regularly employed at
a salary In the south. Florida. and along
the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the penin'
sula. and all through the almost impene-
trable lagcons and bayous Of the Ever
glads-. who kecpupt the warfare upon the
birds of plumage ard song all through
the winter. And this fac, has led To the
agitation u the question whether rigid
Law should not be- passed 10 punish by
fines aud penal,ies all who are convicted
of shooting any birls excepting those
which are edible. Letter In New York
bun.