SEA-BIRDS AND OIL.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTAX0112' Sze,—Can nothing be done to stop the reckless emptying of the refuse of steamers' oil tanks into the sea round our coast? At the present time it is destroying thousands of our sea-birds, especially diving birds and sea-ducks. My wife and I have just had the enjoyment of pleasant weather at the seaside spoilt by the sight of wretched guillemots coming ashore at St. Leonards. One of them, almost imploring man's help, had made its way into a crowd of sightseers, and was trying in vain, by combing its feathers with its beak and flapping its wings, to rid itself of the sticky horror. But nothing seems to save these birds. Their down, which keeps the body dry, is matted with the greasy stuff. Water finds its way to the skin and they slowly die of cold, unless boys stone them or dogs kill them and so put them out of their misery.—I am.
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