" A BILL TO AMEND THE WILD BIRDS' PROTECTION ACT ' 79 



purposes, whereby, if he be an adept, he is able by their sale 

 in the open market to add considerably to his own livelihood. 

 This man, I believe, would rejoice at a " close time " being 

 enforced, after the first, second, or third laying of the birds, 

 for the places where he plies his calling, so as to allow the 

 hatching of the second, third, or fourth laying (as the case 

 may be), and most of the birds with which he is concerned 

 lay twice, thrice, or four times in the season, and so ensure 

 the unimpaired continuation of the breed. 



Secondly, there is the ordinary school-boy, whose depre- 

 dations are at times extremely annoying to the owners or 

 occupiers of gardens, plantations, and the like, but declared 

 by the " Close Time " Committee to have little or no effect 

 in reducing the number of birds in general, though their 

 continuance year after year in particular districts may locally 

 produce that effect. Now it is to be remarked that the 

 ordinary school-boy, as a rule, is quite indifferent as to the 

 kind of bird whose nest he may rob, and any restriction as 

 to protected or unprotected species would be wholly lost 

 upon him. To this rule there are some exceptions, and the 

 exceptions often grow up to be fair naturalists. 



Thirdly, there is the " collector," who is only sometimes 

 a naturalist in the true sense of the word. When he is one, 

 he may be safely trusted to do no harm ; but more often he 

 is a dealer, and his influence on the whole is destructive to 

 the less common kinds of birds, though even to this there 

 are exceptions as for instance the notable case of the 

 Golden Eagle, which in Scotland would have become extinct, 

 as the Sea Eagle has, were it not that the price the " col- 

 lector " pays for its egg ensures its preservation at the hands 

 of shepherds, foresters, and gillies but these exceptions 

 are not numerous, and it cannot be doubted that the dealing 

 " collector " is in these days an evil, so that no true naturalist 

 could object to see obstacles put in his way. Whether he 

 would not be astute enough to escape the meshes of any Act 

 of Parliament could only be ascertained after trial ; but 

 certainly an Act to check his proceedings must be very 

 different from the present Bill, which, I feel sure, would hardly 

 touch him. He is well enough off to employ counsel if 

 charged, and of his own knowledge would be able to indicate 



