The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-22

perish in consequence is nothing to
them. They will be paid for every
murdered bird This detestable work
will be carried on SO long as fashion
continues to demand dead birds as or
nanenfs, as if feminine beauty could
be rendered more captivating thereby.
For years eloquent and earnest speak
ers and writers have implored and adj
Jured the gentle sex to put a stop TO
the Infamous traffic in dead birds. But
the marble heart of fashion is irres-
ponsive. Honor and admiration for
the few women who will not wear bird
corpSeS in their headgear but the many
who do forfeit their right to be honored
or admired
Those who are engaged in this pecu-
liar trade are ready with the assertion
that most of the ornaments now used
are not of real birds, but artificial sub
st1tutes. This is doubtless the fact,
but without explanation a misleading
one. The substitutes are sold at COM
paratively low prices, while for real
dead birds or any part Of their plum
age high prices are demanded and
paid. The bitter truth is that our song
birds have been butchered until fash
ions uncanny demand for them can no
longer be fully supplied.
The scarcity of birds is augmented
by other causes. Boys, of both city
and country, rifle their nests and de-
stroy them and their young. That their
parents have never taught them better
and made no effort to restrain them
from such acts of wanton cruelty
makes the matter all the more discour-
aging. | have now in mind some boys
not little fellows for whom ignorance
might be a partial excuse, but great
hull Io-1 -
will shack along the cross roads and
over the fields, shooting any innocent
birds that trustingly come within range
not for food or any ether possible
use, but only for the pleasure of killing
the harmless creatures. Time has stern
lessons yet to be learned by them.
The father of one of the youthful
bird-killers just referred to keeps three
dogs-perhaps four. 1t would be char
table to say that these nondescript
ours are only useless. They scurry
everywhere, intruding their unwelcome
presence upon premises to which the
birds instinctively retreat for security
All living creatures are frightened by
their yelping. They seek out the well
concealed nests Of ground birds and
devour their contents. The stealthy
house cat is a deadly enemy of birds
red Aquirrel destroys birds nests and
eggs in most spiteful and malicious
way. One of the worst charges
against the crow is that he destroys the
young of other birds ait times.
Many are inclined to believe that the
death of numbers of birds may be at
tributed to the excessive use of arsen-
ties in spraying during recent years.
Whether or not this is the fact there
can be no doubt that the alarming in
crease of insects, compelling the resort
to poisons, is largely attributable to the
lessened number of birds.
Birds have natural enemies from the
destructive propensities of which they
cannot be wholly protected. But by far
their worst enemy is man, of whom
they are friends and helpers. That 1T
may be even worse in other countries
Is no excuse for OUTS A recentnum-
Der of the Fortnightly Review states
that $4,000 birds daily come into the
London markets, whose poulterers sell
them by the bushel. Besides those sold
for table purposes there are thousands
killed for their feathers, their wings,
when dyed SO as to counterfeit tropical
birds, being worn for ornaments.
Americans may cry shame to the
English for permitting tine destruction
of a charming songster, justly eelebrat-
ed by their poets But so long as they
make no atonenent for the wholesale
destruction of their own song birds and
the almost complete determination Of
some varieties, and make no worthy
effort to effectually end the cruel and
dastardly slaughter of birds, Ameri-
cans would better hold their peace.