^°'i923^"' CI 1 1 S 1 1 () I , M . Private Collccfiinj 315 



wipe out a race of rare I)uUertlies. It is this that persuaded a 

 collector in Borneo (as Professor Skertchly assures us) t(i burn 

 a jungle in the noble atleni])! lo create a monopoly of a certain 

 rare orchid. 



What more need be said to indicate that the acquisitive disease 

 of the average private collector — in so far as it affects a ])eople 

 or a country — is the same unlovely thing that it was in the days 

 of Dives and Shylock? The cpiality of mercy, we are told, is 

 twice blest; if that be so, its antithesis (the ac((uisitive cpiality 

 that blasts and kills) must be doubly cursed. 



It is doubtful whether space is available to discuss Mr. Ashby's 

 opinions of protective legislation. Shortly, I agree that this is 

 not always effective, but I know from personal experience that 

 it has been productive of much good, and this particularly in a 

 direction cham])ioned by the South Australian veteran, to wit, 

 the setting apart of sanctuaries. But education remains still 

 the primary and most weighty factor in the work of conserving 

 and studying birds. Such education, I submit, is beyond the 

 province of the private collector. 



That there are able and sincere men among collectors is 

 obvious enough ; and I would not go so far as to say (as has 

 been suggested more than once) that these should be judged by 

 the company they keep. I say only that such men are warping 

 their finer sensibilities, and that their best efforts are, nearly 

 always, rendered negative by the force of a bad example. To 

 protest against the taking of new birds or eggs would be foolish. 

 It would also be absurd to object to enriching the collection of 

 the R.A.O.U. or the semi-national collection at "Belltrees." (So 

 far from doing this, I have repeatedly been instrumental in 

 securing material for these collections). But the average ])rivate 

 collector is a relic of barbarism and a perversion of civilisation. 

 He is more; he is a relic of sin, masquerading under the honoured 

 name of Science. He gives no "thanks to the human heart b}- 

 which we live"; he lives for himself alone, on the lore of the 

 dead and the petrified. 



I say, again, that the I\..\.O.r. must recognise that the l)ad 

 element, ever present, among private collectors makes it utterly 

 unwise to encourage the study of dead birds or egg shells outside 

 the legitimate limits of scientific institutions. 



Correspondence 



To the Editors of "The Em it." 



Sirs, — I have read with interest Mr. Edwin Ashbx's ])ai>er on 

 "Private Collections and Permits," and without critici.sm of the 

 pai)er itself, I wish to make certain comments in relation to 

 I'rivate collecting and bird-protection. 



