Bird Notes and News 



115 



the British Plumage Bill, and that conse- 

 quently they will take the place of the 

 prohibited plumes. 



FRANCE. 



The Societe Protectrice des Animaux 

 de Paris, at its meeting on Sept. 18th, 

 sent its heartfelt congratulations to those 

 who have conducted the energetic and 

 successful campaign in the United States, 

 adding : — 



" The meeting hears the call made upon 

 France by Dr. Hornaday for similar action, 

 and relies upon the Societe Protectrice des 

 Animaux de Paris to begin at once a cam- 

 paign to secure in France the same victory." 



In a discussion at the Academy of 

 Sciences, Paris, the principal argument 

 put forward for the trade was that of 

 the number of women said to be employed 

 in France who, it was argued, would be 

 thro^vn out of work. M. Perrier, Director 

 of the Natural History Museum, protested 

 strongly against the destruction of birds. 

 As for the workpeople, 30,000 women 

 employed in the artificial flower trade 

 had been months out of work owing to 

 the aigrette craze. He begged the 

 Academy to dechne the trade offer of 

 £400 for the best method of domesti- 

 cating egrets in farms. It was a mere 

 bhnd to gain time ; everyone knew 

 that these birds could not be domesti- 

 cated. 



In an article in Le Chenil (Nov. 13), 

 the organ of the Jardin Zoologique 

 d'Acclimatation, on the new American 

 law, M. Pichot says : 



" In view of the introduction of the British 

 Bill, the feather-trade fire their last shot 

 by organising a Committee, calling itself 

 independent, for the Economic Protection 

 of Birds. The word Exploitation would, 

 perhaps, better define the object of this new 

 association, which, patronised by the London 

 Chamber of Commerce, begins again an 

 enquiry already made a thousand times 

 into the status of the Avifauna of difl'erent 



countries, and proposes to encourage the 

 domestication of wild species. In France 

 the trade, feeling the coming storm, seeks 

 to organise a league for which it solicits 

 the patronage of certain scientific nota- 

 bilities. There is no objection to that pro- 

 vided it is not made to cover the traffic. 

 But that is the nice point, because the 

 traders have sought so much to mislead 

 pubhc opinion by inaccurate assertions, 

 that one must mistrust so sudden a con- 

 version to the idea of protection." 



The trade are working hard to form 

 a similar Committee for Scientific 

 "Exploitation" in France. M. Edmond 

 Perrier, Director of the Natural History 

 Museum and President of the Acchmati- 

 zation Society, M. Debreuil, Secretary 

 of the Society, Dr. Geoffrey Saint Hilaire, 

 and many other eminent men of science, 

 have, however, refused to allow their 

 names to be used for such a purpose. 



HOLLAND. 



Professor Swaen, President of the 

 Amsterdam section of the Netherlands 

 Bird Protection Society, writes : 



"As regards the importation of feathers 

 we are very active, and have been preparing 

 the public for a favourable reception of a 

 Bill to prohibit importation. I am quite 

 convinced that if your Bill is passed we 

 shall have a similar Bill introduced, with 

 your example to point to ; and I can give 

 you the assurance that our Society will 

 do its utmost to promote action in this 

 direction." 



Dr. Kerbert, Director of the Royal 

 Zoological Society of Amsterdam, writes 

 to Dr. Hornaday (Nov. 14) : 



" We have received your letter about the 

 destruction of valuable and beautiful \Wld 

 birds for the millinery trade, and take plea- 

 sure in informing you that we fully agree 

 Avith you on this point. ... As we read in 

 the foreword of your interesting book on 

 ' Our Vanishing Wild Life,' this great 

 battle for preservation and conservation 

 cannot be won by gentle tones, nor by 

 appeals to the aesthetic instincts, but it is 

 necessary to establish the law." 



