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WANTON DESTRUCTION. 

 Sir, — A melancholy spectacle for lovers of British birds 

 was afforded a few weeks ago in the shape of a glass case 

 containing no less than a hundred specimens of stuffed King- 

 fishers which was offered at auction in a London sale-room. It 

 is some satisfaction, however, that the object did not produce 

 much competition, and was not sold. The inscription on the 

 case reads : " Group of Kingfishers caught in Leicestershire, 

 1898-9, by W, Burton." The person who would "catch," not 

 even with the sporting excuse of shooting, a hundred of these 

 beautiful birds for the purpose of stuffing their dead bodies, 

 deserves the further notoriety which is hereby given him. 



H. J. FULLJAMES. 



GOLDFINCHES. 



Sir, — I have a Goldfinch which has been kept in a large 

 cage with one other. A short time ago I noticed he was quite 

 bare on one side of his face. On catching him I found he had 

 a large swelling over the eye, in fact the whole side of the face 

 seemed very much swollen ; the next day the eye closed up. I 

 bathed it with warm water, and after a da}' or two the eye 

 opened, but I thought the sight was destroyed. This, however, 

 was not so, and tliat eye seemed to get all right. To my 

 astonishment, on going to see my birds yesterday, I found the 

 other eye very nmch swollen and quite closed up. I cannot 

 account for it in any way. 



I may add that directly I noticed the first eye swollen I 

 separated him from the other finch. 



A. B. Craddock. 



I believe it is by no means unusual, in the human subject, 

 for iritis, when cured in the eye first attacked, to appear shortly 

 afterwards in the other. A case of this sort came under my 

 notice a few months ago. Doubtless the same thing might 

 occur in birds. H. R. Fillmer. 



