"OSPREY" FARMING 



The sinful cruelty practised in obtaining the 

 beautiful aigrettes known to milliners as " osprey " 

 plumes has evoked any amount of reprobation in 

 the press and elsewhere ; but they are still sold 

 and worn, and the assertions made that the birds 

 from which they are obtained are kept in " farms " 

 have been proved to be incorrect. Yet there is 

 no reason why "osprey" farming should not be 

 made a lucrative and legitimate pursuit if people 

 went the right way about it. 



In the first place, it must be remembered that 

 the filmy white plumes do not come off the bird 

 properly known as the osprey. This is a large 

 brown-and-white fishing hawk, persecuted, indeed, 

 to the death by the collector of " British speci- 

 mens," but not in the cause of fashion, since it 

 has no remarkable plumage to excite cupidity. 



The plumes sold under this name are the 



trousseau of several species of white herons — 



a wedding garment worn by both bride and 



groom, and they were originally called by the 



French name "esprit." Mispronunciation, and 



the knowledge that there is a bird called osprey, 



have given us the present title. Of course, the 



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