124 The Irish NaUtralist. 



and, recently, the Birds' Protection Society in England, under 

 the patronage of the Duchess of Portland ; and also that a more 

 willing and hearty support was given in the Colonies and else- 

 where to the Birds' Protection Acts. The Society has based its 

 appeal for preservation on scientific, aesthetic, and economic 

 grounds, and has a due regard for sentiment, without which 

 our daily life would be a dreary and monotonous toil. Still, 

 appeals to uninstructed persons do not always prove successful, 

 therefore, in order to obtain voluntary co-operation, it seemed 

 desirable to encourage the study of natural history. If an 

 interest can be excited in young people in the structure and 

 habits of an animal, or plant, by hedgerow and field, then one 

 long step in the right direction has been taken towards creat- 

 ing in them a lasting taste for a pursuit demanding no costly 

 appliances, and dealing with an inexhaustible store of material 

 always at hand. 



With the acquisition of a certain amount of elementary 

 knowledge, the habit of accurate observation and careful in- 

 vestigation is fostered ; thus a faithful follower of Gilbert 

 White is developed, ever on the alert for note-making, and al- 

 ways capable of writing an intelligible and truthful account of 

 some occurrence likely to interest the readers of the Society's 

 organ. Nature Notes. This magazine is like the sisters' only 

 doll in Pjiiich — "it's all of our magazine," containing, from its 

 most learned articles to the shortest paragraphs, in "stuff" 

 voluntarily contributed by members of all sorts and conditions, 

 and of all ages. 



The Editor, Mr. James Britten, F.^.S., a well-known botanist, 

 is especially grateful to persons who will, without regard for 

 fine writing, send him short accounts of what they themselves 

 see and hear. We live in an age of close observation, looking 

 forward to a time when much valuable knowledge will be de- 

 rived from collections of even the humblest notes, provided 

 that they have been recorded simply and truthfully. 



In almost every branch of the Society there are members 

 who, being expert naturalists, find time in which to give short 

 addresses to children or unskilled members, as well as to the 

 general public, and there also gradually arise ladies and gentle- 

 men who, with an aptitude for imparting information, try to fol- 

 low successfully in the direction so ably indicated by Kingsley 

 in his lectures, and in " Madam How, and I^ady Why?" 



