A HOLOCAUST.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 216, 11 September 1908, Page 6

A HOLOCAUST.

Over 30,000 helpless little quail burned alive in their cages! Si^ch was the result of a destructive fire in North London recently. The birds were the property of a quail-dealer who does a big business with London shops. They were housed in a large wooden two-storied shed in a paddock near the owner's house, and it was not until the flames had obtained a firm hold that the outbreak was discovered, in the early hours of the morning. Despite the desperate efforts1 made to extinguish the flames, the shed was in ruins in a very short time, and the unfortunate little creatures within were beyond all help (writes the Post correspondent). Not on© escaped. J3ut it is some consolation to be told that tile fumes from the burning woodwork mercifully killed the majority of the birds before the flames could reach them. Large numbers of quail are sent from Egypt and Italy to London, where, after being fattened with millet, they are killed and sent to the market. A consignment from Italy had just arrived. As the object of the importer is to fatten the birds up to market requirements as speedily as possible, various expedients are resorted to in order to make them eat more than their normal quantity of food. One method is to bring about artificial darkness, and then, by turning on one electric light after another, to lead the birds to think that another day has dawned, and thus induce a morning appetite.