And the King of Italy, the Queen of Italy, the Parliament of Italy and His Holiness the Pope permit these things, year in and year out.  It is now said, however, that through the efforts of a recently organized bird-lovers’ society in Italy, the blinding of decoy birds for roccolos is to be stopped.

In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the protection of these birds during their breeding season must be very effective, for otherwise the supply for the Italian slaughter of the Innocents would long ago have fallen to nothing.

The Germans love birds, and all wild life.  I wonder how they like the Italian roccolo.  I wonder how France regards it; and whether the nations of Europe north of Italy will endure this situation forever.

To the American and English reader, comment on the practices recorded above is quite unnecessary, except the observation that they betoken a callousness of feeling and a depth of cruelty and destructiveness to which, so far as known, no savages ever yet have sunk.  As an exhibit of the groveling pusillanimity of the human soul, the roccolo of northern Italy reveals minus qualities which can not be expressed either in words or in figures.

And what is the final exhibit of the gallant knight of the roccolo, the feudal lord of the modern castle and its retainers?

The answer is given by Dr. Louis B. Bishop, in an article on “Birds in the Markets of Southern Europe.”

In Venice, which was visited in October and November, during the fall migration, he found on sale in the markets, as food, thousands of songbirds.

“Birds were there in profusion, from ducks to kites, in the early morning, hung in great bunches above the stalls, but by 9 A.M. most of them had been sold.  Ducks and shorebirds occurred in some numbers, but the vast majority were small sparrows, larks and thrushes.  These were there during my visit by the thousands, if not ten thousands.  To the market they were brought in large sacks, strung in fours on twigs which had been passed through the eyes and then tied.  Most of these small birds had been trapped, and on skinning them I often could find no injury except at their eyes.[C] One of these sacks which I examined on November 3, contained hundreds of birds, largely siskins, skylarks and bramblings.  As a rule the small birds that were not sold in the early morning were skinned or picked, and their tiny bodies packed in regular order, breasts up, in shadow tin boxes, and exposed for sale.”

[Footnote C:  It is probable that these birds were killed by piercing the head through the eyes.]

“During these visits to the Venetian markets, I identified 60 species, and procured specimens of most.  As nearly as I can remember, small birds cost from two to five cents apiece.  For example I paid $2.15 on Nov. 8, for