THE PROTECTION OF WILD BIRDS IN SCOTLAND 147 



Councils, to all of whom, along with the Circular and Lists 

 of Birds, it has already been transmitted. 



A retrospect of the working of the Act of 1894 must 

 convince every one that such a scheme as that now proposed 

 is a great desideratum. The want of such a " plan of action," 

 if we may so term it, in the past has resulted in so many 

 anomalies that confidence in the Act has been shaken and 

 its wisdom even doubted. 



The most serious of these defects are of a fundamental 

 nature. Thus we find that counties in which the conditions 

 of bird life and the requirements of protection are identical 

 have elected to protect few species in common ; that many 

 of the birds scheduled are not species really in need of 

 protection ; that the birds which should be protected are 

 often conspicuous by their absence from the schedules ; 

 and, lastly, that certain counties have actually applied the 

 benefits of the Act to the eggs of birds which do not breed 

 in the British Islands ! It is true that by a judicious exercise 

 of censorship some of these shortcomings and absurdities have 

 fortunately been remedied ; but there are naturally limits to 

 the application of such censorship. 



It is essential that the Local Authority should realise 

 what species actually require protection within the area 

 under its jurisdiction. Certain County Councils alas only 

 a few have either possessed this necessary knowledge, or, if 

 they did not, have wisely consulted specialists ; and in these 

 cases the result has been all that could be desired. 



We fully realise, however, the fact and we desire to 

 be very emphatic upon this point that the intention of 

 the Local Authority has always been excellent and well- 

 meaning, and prompted solely by a desire to do the best for 

 the community ; and if these good intentions have failed it 

 is not the fault, but rather the misfortune, of the promoters. 



It is the very laudable desire to remove these existing 

 anomalies, and to secure the maximum of benefit that the 

 Acts are capable of affording, that has led Lord Balfour 

 to propound his carefully thought-out scheme, and to offer 

 sound advice as to what species should be protected generally 

 and in the two districts into which Scotland is proposed to 

 be subdivided. 



