144 The Question of Amalgamation. 



regarding the raising of the annual subscription, and I therefore take 

 the hberty of making a suggestion that this Society should amalgamate 

 with the Avicultural Society and form a really powerful union which 

 will include all the llritish and Foreign uviculturists ; it would then be 

 possible to issue a much larger and more interesting magazine, with 

 coloured plates and a greater amount of original reading matter 

 under one cover. 1 would suggest, too, that more space should then 

 be devoted to notes and articles on British and I'oreign wild birds; trav 

 ellers doubtless could give us splendid descriptions of a ])opular nature 

 of their experiences amongst the birds of the various countries visited 

 1 recall two intensely interesting articles which came out in the early 

 volumes of the Avicultural Magazine — " The Birds of Ecuador," by Mr. 

 W. Goodfelliw, and " Birds of the Bahamas," by Mr. Bonhote. There 

 must and will be numbers of people who could write interesting notes 

 which would be of very great value t(j our members, but not perhaps 

 scientific enough for jjublication in the Ibis. Again, since the Zoologist 

 was given uji there is a great want of a popular magazine for British bird 

 notes and descriptions of bird life in this country in general. 1 know, 

 of course, that we have that most interesting magazine British Birds, but 

 it again is of a pretty high scientific nature rather after the style of Ibis, 

 and the Editors would not wish to fill up their pages with notes and 

 articles such as used to a])pear in the Zoologist when in its palmy days. 



" Surely in these days of great business amalgamations the Councils 

 ' of the Avicultural Society and Foreign Bird Club could meet together 

 ' and produce a magnificent scheme for the good of Ornithologj' in its 

 ' widest sense; nieml>ers then would not mind paying the larger subscrip- 

 ' tion, becavtse they know that they would be getting the best value possible 

 ' instead of keeping up two Societies, one in opposition to the other. This 

 ' I believe to be the ideal plan, but if not acceptable I would take a leaf 

 ' from this ' Distressful Country ' of mine; here we have a little magazine 

 ' called the Irish Naturalist, which in spite of jiarty fights does duty as the 

 ' official magazine of no less than seven different Natural Hi,story Societies. 

 ' If this can be done in Ireland, surely in England enough unity could be 

 obtained amongst naturalists to carry through a scheme on the above 

 ' lines. — Yours very truly, 



W. H. WORKMAN, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. 



<> 



" AMALG.\MATION.*' 



" The Editor draws attention to the thoughtful and ^aluable letter 

 on this subject published elsewhere in this issue. Our correspondent 



