tly large numbers of
Cardinals were caught or taken from the nest while young, for shipment
to foreign countries by bird dealers. Owing to the efforts of the
National Association, this traffic is a thing of the past. The Model
Law, which is in force in all the States where the Cardinal is found,
prohibits all traffic in these birds and forbids their being shipped
from the State.

The Cardinal is too beautiful and valuable a bird to be confined within
the narrow limits of a cage, where its splendid spirit is soon broken
by its unavailing attempts to escape. Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller, in one
of her charming pictures of bird life, says of a captive Cardinal,
that, "He is a cynic, morose and crusty." Such a character cannot be
attributed to the Cardinal when it is at liberty. Its wild, free song,
its restless activity and its boldness are the antithesis of a
depressed cage captive. Even when it receives the best care from its
human jailer it is still a prisoner confined in a space so small that
it never has an opportunity to stretch its wings in flight, nor can it
ever bathe in the bright sunshine or view the blue skies above it. The
whispering of the winds through the sylvan shades is lost to the
captive forever. Is it strange that the nature of this wild free spirit
changes?

The writer has seen many hundreds of these beautiful birds in cages
ready to be shipped, each one doomed to a short existence, a prisoner
and an exile. Fortunately, this condition is now changed; and, had the
National Association accomplished no other good, the stopping of the
cage-bird traffic would be a sufficient reason for its organization.

In the South, where the Cardinal is one of the most abundant birds, it
is a special favorite, rivaling the Mockingbird in the affections of
the people. It is commonly found in the towns as well as the rural
districts. The female bird builds the nest, which is loosely
constructed of leaves, bark, twigs, shreds of grape-vine, and is lined
with dry grasses. The nest is placed in bushes or vines from eight to
ten feet from the ground. Three or four white eggs, speckled with
brown, are laid, and it is probable that in the South two broods are
raised each season. The home life of Cardinals is a pattern of domestic
felicity, so true are the sexes to each other. Even in winter they seem
to be paired, for a male and a female are always seen together.
However, during the season of incubation the tender solicitude of