The sun., 1898-05-15
rHs sLAUaHrER OF EHB BrRDa
usntss ana sslash Rsstvucsisu IaaEes. ths
woeds sileut-surprSsinE utstlytic-.

wsntss ana selash psstVuctisu uales. ths
woeas siBsut-surprSsinG utstlyticu.
mon, tAs N0aro.
wherever the European goes he kills birda
Michelet was among the fret 10 sound the
alarm. Years rolled on and the evil increased.
In every village, In spite Of the schoolmasteF.
the children 60 hunting birds nests Wantonly
and stupidly the pretty creatures OF God are de-
stroyod. Explorers 70 into foreign countries -
hunt rare birds. In Algeria they killed 20 u'sSS
storks tbat thsro are hardly any more OF them
left stcrks are not afraid Of the Arabs, bue
they know tho European on sight. .
Formerly the rcd ibis sWarmed In the valley OF
the Nile Now they are nearly all gone. In the
oascs Of the Sahara tho travellers killed 90 many
pewits and plovors that the natives became In
dignant. But think of tho slaughter OF birds OF
passage in the south Of Italy and Of France 10
supply tho eGigenciss of fashioni What hccae
tombs We make; we call ourselves oivilizedi
In France there are about $50 species Of birda.
400 perhaps. IL we include the kind that FIRE.
quent the marshes, the riyers and the see. In
the spring Il is estimated that upon French
territory there are about 1O0.Oo0000 cou.
piles. After the Matching II may be said
that there is increase of milliard
birds. The birds Of prey, man and storms
carry away more than onethird of them.
There remains all told every year q surplus Of
ulIub. buJ tnlb buIpiub CnnnOb
last long. The poachors and the hunters destroy
more than 200. 100000 The hawks. the weasels,
and the cats destroy about 500. 900 birds
yearly. The annual production is rapidly alb
sorbed In this way. and tho destruction still
goes on. NJ. Andre GODDARD recently said in an
excellent article: There are in Franco alone
$50, 900 hunting licenses. The south has one
half Of them. and there they only shoot little
birds for real game has become extinct in that
n
these legal hunters must be added the landlords,
tho children who shoot in their gardens, and,
above all. tho innumerable army of poachors thae
carry on Wholesale extcrmination by means Of
about thirty different prohibited engines. The
police are powerless against them, for their
operations are carried on at night"
Therefore the massacre brings about marked
diminution in tho number of our winged beau
ties. 1t is oasy to that, H. this thing on,
in France, except Bparrows in the towns, and
possibly little game in preserved lands. This
any means. According to N. GODDARD. in Maine
et-Loiro. department favored by protection.
Sn q so Go
spoke OF certain species OF birds becoming rare,
the the same 1GS species quite emu numerous ] 'A'' 'N
Many aquatic bfrds such as the black tern. the
srS6s %nd the have also
reserves Even at the present time there arp
some birds SO rare that they are known princt-
paly through their representatives in the orni-
theological showcases of our museums Sad little
relicsl Everything dcpends upon the habits and
the fecundity of the species; Tho sparrow and
come The goldhnch and the charming
to answer the roll call. The thrush and
the blackbird that sing 10 charmngly are
threatened far more than tho startling, which 10
more wary. In general the migrating birds
suffer most, especially the RSllinaceous tribe,
because they emiRrhte toward the south. Tho
webfooted birds take tho opposite course and
make their homes In the northern regtonB.
According to the observations Of NJ. Andre God
ard, in certain countries during the past ten
years the following species have almost on.
tirely Disappeared: The swallow; the green
blackbird, the bog rush, and the yeliowham-
mer. In Provence there arc no more ravens,
woodpeckers. or pewits. They are all gone
The hunters kill what ought to be spared and
spare what ought to he killed. A hawk destroys
each year about 1000 birds. He Is never mo-
lested. On the contrary. we help him along In his
work OF destruction. Moreover, we cut down
the trees, which also tho loss Of countless
nests In n word. we do everything that we can
To bring about rs quickly as possible tho com.
plete apnihilation of our winged fauns. I'm
aRine the woods. the parks. and the gardeDg
without those little charn,ers that we call birdse
Fancy. the fields, the plains, and the forest0
silent forever after our social led civilization, by
blotted from the book of nature one of It's most
interesting pages; indeed, might say. ono Of the
most beautiful chapters i'll the croationi
HENRI DE PARvILLR,