Editorial. 125 



One pair of Green Cardinals are incubating and another [tair just about 

 to lay 1 think. Pairs of Red-crested, and Virginian Cardinals are also 

 incubating. 



In fact all the birds are nesting or showing signs of so doing. Gouldian 

 Finches and hen Violet-eared Waxbill are the only slackers so far ; the cock 

 Violet-ear is verv anxious to nest, and so zvas the hen. They had the aviary 

 to themselves for a few days in early April and had actually Inn'lt and com- 

 pleted a nest in the shelter, when the hen liecame very ill all of a sudden, and 

 J only just managed to save her — she lay in my hand as though dead, so it was 

 a narrow shave. She is back in the aviary now and looking very fit. but shows 

 no desire to restart nesting operations though the cock is very keen on doing 

 so. The Gouldian Finches have only been out a few days. All the birds 

 are very fit in spite of awful weather. 



Kingskerswell, May 3, 1922. GERALD E. RATTIGAN. 



C^ 



Editorial. 



Latk and Irrk(;ular Is.suk oi" thk Club Journal : ( )nce 

 and for all your officers disclaim the responsibility for this, and 

 the Editor is decidedly of the opinion that, even if he could spare 

 the time, it would not be for the tj;"ood progress of the Journal 

 or the Club that he should fill the missing" pages by a given 

 date each month. The sole cause of the delay, except with the 

 January issue, is the lack of copy— -too often the publishing date 

 comes round and no copy in, though requests are often sent 

 round ; as a consequence things have to be put through in a very 

 hurried manner, which tends neither to correct English nor 

 general excellence. Foreign journals have to be searched for 

 suitable field notes, in the absence of purely avicultural matter, 

 and the proofs only get about half the attention really called 

 for — a request for copy brought the following reply: "too busy 

 on more remunerative work." Well, if the Editor (the office 

 is only Iionorary and he desires no change) takes the same stand, 

 wdiat will be the result ? We leave the obvious conclusion to 

 our members' common sense, but would point out that even if 

 one be an enthusiast there comes a day when it is a case of "the 

 last straw breaking the camel's back!" In respect of this 

 issue — we stated the case plainly in Notices to Members in April 

 Bird Notes — within a week of publishing date only one article 

 was in hand. 



Yet such is the fatuosity of our humanity that the pub- 



