416 Remarks on Mr. A. Newton^s "Suggestions 



often squandered on the most worthless accumulations from the 

 shops of dealers. In too many instances^ especially with respect 

 to so-called British collections, the class of dealers have exercised 

 the most pernicious influence, destroying confidence and giving 

 false impressions from the basest motives. We should not like 

 to repeat here a painfully true remark of our late friend Mr. 

 Wolley on this subject. As an instance, and by no means an un- 

 common one, of what is meant, we have seen an elegant cabinet 

 beautifully fitted up and supplied by a London dealer to order 

 for a lady much interested in natural history. This cabinet 

 professed to contain a specimen or two of the egg of every Bri- 

 tish bird, with the two exceptions of the Swallow-tailed Kite and 

 Great Auk. These two were probably omitted to give an air 

 of authenticity to the rest. We looked through the cabinet. 

 The first two drawers taught us how largely the Raptorials are 

 indebted to the aberrant tendencies of the poultry-yard. The 

 class can no longer be defended from the vengeance of the 

 fowl-fancier. It would be only tedious to relate how strong 

 was the generic affinity of the White's Thrush and Gold- vented 

 Thrush with our Mavis and Blackbird, how close the connexion 

 between the Waxwing and the Shrike, or how the whole of the 

 ScolopacincB must have left their eggs under charge of the Snipe 

 and the Redshank. But beyond the barefaced robbery of such 

 a system is a yet greater evil in the erroneous ideas propagated 

 by such collections, which, were Mr. Newton's principles uni- 

 versally adopted, would be effectually corrected. 



On Identification, our author remarks the necessity in most 

 countries of obtaining specimens of the parent bird by shooting, 

 snaring, or trapping. We hope, however, he does not intend to 

 urge this course in every instance, else we should indeed be 

 waging a war of cruel extermination. It is necessary to do it 

 occasionally ; but we would really suggest more mercy than our 

 friend seems inclined to show, and would refer him sometimes to 

 the Levitical law on the subject. Suppose, for instance, a col- 

 lector to be in a district where Cetti's Warbler breeds. When 

 he has satisfied himself of one nest, what possible occasion can 

 there be for a further massacre of the innocents in the case of 

 subsequent nests ? We w^ould add here, that we have always, in 



