instructed to exterminate him and his nests wherever found. My little boy, 8 years old, discovered that the English Sparrows were trying to drive tlie Martins out of the boxes we had placed for them. They had posses- sion of one box and were closing up the hole so that the Martins could not enter, but leaving it just wide enough for themselves. He climbed up and tore away their obstruc- tions several times, till they got tired and left. We have not had any since, and the Martins stay with us." On this ride of eight miles, all the way between farms and orchards with trees and bushes along the roadside, I saw Kingbirds, Field Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, Yellow Warblers, Goldfinches, Nuthatches, Rob- ins, Wrens, Doves, Quail with their young. Jays, Brown Thrashers, Flickers, Red- headed Woodpeckers, hundreds upon hun- dreds of Meadowlarks, and others I could not name. The remarks of my farmer friend, cor- roborated by my own observations, seemed to me to be very encouraging to all of us who have been trying to speak a word in season as opportunity presented, on behalf of " our feathered friends." — Garrett New- kirk, Los Angeles, Cat. Visible Results Twenty years ago no birds were more conspicuous along the coast of Maine than the Common and Wilson's Terns. They were to be seen wheeling, splashing, floating about every cove and headland, and their sharp ki-yi-ing was heard in every direc- tion. But during the eighties they dimin- ished steadily and during the nineties they became scarce. Many a time of late years I have sailed the whole distance up the Penob- scot to the head of tide-water without seeing a Tern, and during two full years that I was resident in Eastport, Maine, I never either saw or heard one. This is the more remarkable because, for some months, one summer, I was living within a hundred yards of a natural fishing station for them, and even had I failed to see the birds I must have heard them had any come near. This year, however, 1 have been agree- ably surprised to find the Terns once more on tiie coast. In each of four trips up and down the river I have seen them in consid- able nuniiiers. In one flock I counted over forty birds, and it seemed good to hear their sharp, wild cry again. Judging from their former scarcity and this sudden reappearance, it would seem that the efforts to protect their breeding grounds must have met with some success, and that continued protection w-ould restore the Terns in their old numbers. I have seen no Bonaparte's Gulls this season, nor any Herons, nor Loons. Her- ring Gulls have been present in about thci usual numbers and Fish Hawks in small numbers. The latter is a bird well worth protecting, if merely for the interest it adds to a trip along the coast. A large bird is interesting merely because of its size; if, like the Osprey, it is not inclined to be shy, is not too particular about its nesting places, and does no harm, it should be encouraged whenever possible. We have but four large land birds that can be called characteristic of the Maine coast — the Bald Eagle, the Raven, the Heron and the Fish Hawk. All of the first three are wary birds; the Heron is so particular about its nesting sites as to be rather necessarily a local bird, and the Eagle and the Raven are so destructive to the island sheep as to be legitimately hunted. But the Osprey, or Fish Hawk, is very properly entitled to all the protection that may be afforded oy individuals or socie- ties, and deserves a good word. — Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, Breiver, Me. Proposed New English Law The English Humanitarian League has prepared a bill, which will soon be intro- duced in Parliament, making it a finable offense for any person to sell or wear any article of dress to which there is attached, securely or otherwise, the plumage, >kiii, body or any part of the birds named in the bill ; the list provided particularly includes the Aigrette, Bird of Paradise, Tern, Kit- tiwake. Kingfisher, Hummingbird, and Impeyan Pheasant. — Fi/r Trade Re-vieti: for August, 1901 .
