EGG-COLLECTING 147 



may be called ' egging," should be enacted. The 

 question then arises of what nature these restrictions 

 should be. It seems very simple to those who have not 

 fully considered it ; but those who have seriously reflected 

 upon it find it beset by many complications, and very 

 difficult of solution. Most people, however, will admit 

 that birds' eggs are much more exposed to depredation 

 in certain places than in others, and this only at certain 

 times. 



Proof of this, if wanted, is supplied by the fact that 

 in several parts of England private persons have formed 

 small local associations to pay watchers, during a few 

 weeks in the breeding time, for the protection of the 

 birds frequenting particular localities such as the Fame 

 Islands, the sandhills near Wells in Norfolk, Breydon 

 Water between Norfolk and Suffolk which I mention 

 because I myself subscribe to them. It may be that 

 there are others. 



To me one way of treating the question seems pre- 

 ferable to any other that has been suggested, and, indeed, 

 after many years' consideration the only one practicable. 

 This is to give the local authority (County Council or 

 Justices in Quarter Sessions), subject to the assent of a 

 central authority, power to prohibit all egging in certain 

 definite places for a certain definite time. Such prohibi- 

 tion would probably be confined to comparatively small 

 bounds an island, a sea-beach, cliffs, or sandhills 

 adjoining the shore, a heath, common, wood or forest, a 

 public park, a mere or broad with the surrounding land, 

 or so on, and would be locally known, so that the risk 

 of boys being sent to gaol would be greatly lessened. 

 Moreover, all egging being prohibited within the pre- 

 scribed limits during the inhibited period there would be 

 no need of attempting to prove that an egg found in the 

 captor's possession was that of a protected species, such 

 proof being in many, if not in most cases, as every 

 practical ornithologist knows, absolutely impossible, if 

 the defendant were advised by an ingenious counsel ; 

 for, in the greater number of cases, an egg could not be 



