282 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1891. 



-i'>rmt Milligram, in the Shikarpur district, are now worthless. As regards other 

 birds, a considerable traffic in plumage goes on in a quiet way, and one only 

 occasionally hears of it. A year or two ago there was a great demand for certain 

 hers of the common paddy bird, for which Bs. 22 per "tola" were paid. As 

 very few feathers from each bird are taken, and these small ones, the number of 

 birds required to produce a "tola" weight of these feathers was considerable. I 

 expostulated with the zemindars about it, but I heard that several men had made a 

 ^ood deal of money by slaughtering the birds for the sake of these few feathers. I 

 do not think this sort of thing ought to be permitted." 



Sind, February, 1891. 



" 1 am afraid the figures reported to you were anything but exaggerated. Seven or 

 eight years ago it was rumoured that 80,^00 Black Partridge skins had been sent off 

 from one station in the Rohri Division (Shikarpur district). In this (the Eastern 

 Nam) district large numbers of large blue Kingfishers and Egrets used to be killed, 

 an 1 last year I came across a band of Madrassees engaged in trapping King6shers. 

 The awful destruction men of this class must cause may be imagined, when it was 

 worth their while to come every year this long journey from Madras, and they were 

 aide to pay all expenses and make a living out of the sale of the skins they procured 

 in their cold weather tour." 



Hyderabad. Sind, Feb., 1891. 



The above are extracted from a large number of letters received by the Society, 

 all testifying to the rapid destruction of birds, &c, in various parts of the Presi- 

 dency. 



H. M. Phipson, Honorary Secretary. 



