2 The Horrors of the Plume Trade 



That the parent bird.-^ must be shot in order to obtain the plumes. 



That the young lairds in the nests must starve, in consequence of the death 

 of the parents. 



That all statements that the plumes are manufactured or are gathered after 

 being molted by the adult birds are false. Human skill cannot reproduce a feather, 

 and, after the l)reeding season, all Herons' plumes are worn and ragged, and are, 

 therefore, unfit for use. 



THE COST OF A I'LUME. THE PR TLRE lELLS irs ( ) U X lALE 

 Photographed by A. H. E. Mattingley 



Mr. A. H. K. Mattingley, of Melbourne, gra])hically describes the horrors 

 he witnessed at a Heron rookery, in New South Wales, which had been raided 

 by ))lume-hunters, and veritk-d his statements by the camera.* 



"Notwithstanding the e.xtreme heat and the myriads of mosquitos, I deter- 

 mined to revisit the locality during my Christmas holidays, in order to obtain 

 one picture only, — namely, that of a White Crane, or Egret, feeding its young. 

 When near the place, I could see some large patches of white, either floating in 

 the water, or reclining on the fallen trees in the vicinity of the Egret's rookery. 



* Ki-prinleil, l)y i)iTniis>ii)ii, frum 'The Emu.' tin- official orijan of the .\ustralasian ()rnitliolo- 

 gists' Union. 



