Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-02-09
A Million Robins Annually.
FOREIGNERS KILL THAT NUMBER OF
OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS.

| Many good people were Mortified wheI
they read the statement published in tn,
lpress year ago that million robin
were killed each year by the southern
people. Nevertheless I have no doub
that within recent years million robin'
have been killed annually in the nortf
by our foreign-born population and theil
children. A few figures may be needed
to convince the reader. The people o.
eastern and southern Europe are largely
bird killers; they shoot, trap and mel
birds to eat, or for millinery purposes
Game officers in this country frequently
find Italians, Greeks and Slavs with
large bags of small birds. A party Of
Greeks who had lined up to drive tht
woods of New Hampshire town were
taken in the act. Such people 90 out in
gangs and use all sorts of means tG
evade the officers. Robins, meadow
larks, cuckoos, thrushes, bluebirds
Swallows, sparrows and all kinds oil
small birds are taken. Some of these
people work quietly with nets, snares
and bird lime. The Metropolitan Police
arrested two Italians near Boston several
years ago with bag full of birds taken
with bird-lime. A game warden within
ten miles of Boston found that gang
of contract laborers practically cleared
the woods of all birds in section of his
town, leaving the earth about their
camps strewn with feathers. Their
chief game bird, the robin, now has a
market value of sixty cents dozen.
Within few miles of the capitol build
ling of one New England state six "Po-
lackers," armed with pistols and small
guns loaded with fine shot sat under the
wild cherry trees one Saturday after
noon and early Sunday morning and
shot robins. The next day the heads OF
los robins were counted where the
women had plucked and dressed them
for the pot. These things are done
regularly and frequently. Immigrants
from uorthw estern Europe are not as a
rule of the bird killing class, but great
part of our immigration now comes from
southern and eastern Europe. Taking
foreign-born persons as a whole, it is
safe to assume from our knowledge of
hunting statistics that three per cent
kill birds, and it is With bounds to say
that each bird killer will destroy fifty
birds per year. We need not reckon the
number of birds destroyed by their chill
dren or by our native men and boys. l
have known a native boy to kill fifty
small birds in day with shot gun.
The census of 1900 enumerated S,92l,-
270 foreign, born persons in the more
northern and eastern states. Three per
cent of this number would be 267, 1857
foreign born bird hunters and trappers
in the north, without taking account of
those in the states of Nevada, Idaho and
Washington. II each of these people
kills but fifty birds each year we have
Is, SS1 $50 birds killed in the northern
and eastern states. 1t is certainly with
in bounds to say that one million of
these would be their favorite robins.
The number of immigrants is constantly
increasing, and the number of birds
killed by them would continue to in
crease were not our people beginning to
apply the remedy in the shape of high
license law for the alien hunter and its
supplemental and necessary statute the
license for the resident hunter. Within
few years all the northern states will
have such laws upon their statute books,
and then and not until then shall we be
able to check this slaughter of the in
nocepts.
EDWARD HOWE FoRBUsH,
New England Agent, National Associa-
ton of Audubon Societies.