52 



Bird Notes and News 



The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. 



COUNCIL MEETING. 



The Council held their quarterly meeting on 

 July 18th, at the Guildhall, Westminster, Mr. 

 Montagu Sharpe, Chairman, presiding. 



The Hon. Secretary's Report dejjlored the 

 death of Mr. H. A. Paynter, a member of the 

 Council ; recorded the issue of a Bird Protection 

 Order for Exeter ; and stated that twelve Bird 

 and Tree Festivals and two lectures had been 

 held, that a letter respecting the protection 

 of the Lapwing had been sent to County 

 Councils, and respecting destruction of birds 

 in the holiday season to Chief Constables. 



The Finance and General Purposes Com- 

 mittee, in joresenting the accounts, annoimced 

 that a donation of £300 to the Watchers' 

 Fund had been received from Miss C. V. Hall, 

 as co-executor of the late Mrs. E. Phillips ; 

 also a bequest of £10, duty free, from the late 

 Miss F. E. Lines, of Handsworth, Birmingham. 

 Miss Strang, of Henley-in-Arden, had become 

 Hon. Secretary for the Society for that district, 

 and Mr. T. W. L. Bradley for Nottinghamshire. 

 The following Fellows and Members were 

 elected : — 



Fellows : Countess-Dov/ager of Crawford, C. 

 Bcrney-Browai, Apsley Cherry-Clarrard, Charles H. 

 Combe, Mrs. d'Este East, Miss Embleton, A. J. Grant, 

 Miss C. A. L. Jones, L. Lister-Kaye, F.M. Lord Mcthuen, 

 G.C.B., C. A. Russell, K.C., Mrs. E. Tennent, Cecil W. 

 Willey. 



Life Fellow : Dr. G. Parker Bidder. 



Affiliated : Somerset Archaeological and Natural 

 History Society (Northern Branch). 



JIembers : Edward Brown, W. M. Crook, Miss Irene 

 Dyson, Miss Pearl Dyson, Willard Eliot, Miss Evans, 

 Lionel L. Fletcher, Miss S. E. Fowler, Miss M. Bellairs 

 Gaskoin, H. Gilham, Mrs. Gittings, C. H. Grinling, 

 Miss Dorothy M. N. Harris, Miss Marion C. Huddle- 

 stone, Kenneth E. Ling, Joshua C. Manly, L. G. 

 Matthews, Miss E. Mease, R. H. Northey, F. R. D. 

 Onslow, Dr. Arthur F. Seacome, Miss B. Staples, 

 Miss Taylor, Charles D. Twopeny, Stanley Udalc, 

 Wilham Welsh, James M. Widdup, Herbert Woods, 

 Marcus Woodward. 



Life Members : Hugh Gutluie Attlee, Lady Ernest 

 St. Maur, Sir Henry W. A. Ripley, Bart. 



Considerable discussion took place v/itli 

 regard to the Plumage Trade and the deputa- 

 tion to Sir Auckland Geddes ; and also as 

 to correspondence with the Board of Trade 

 concerning advertisements of a trader dealing 

 in feathers, the importation of which is at 

 present prohibited. The reply from the Imports 

 Restrictions Department was considered wholly 

 unsatisfactory. 



Consideration was also given to reports of 

 the destruction of Owls at Putney and of Owls 

 and Kestrels in Berkshire, and other matters. 

 In the former case, a paragraph had appeared 

 in the newspapers stating that two Owls had 

 been shot in the grounds of the Royal Hospital 

 for Incurables at Putney " in consequence of 

 their raid upon young chickens." Not only are 

 Owls protected all the year in Surrey (as in 

 most counties), but this offence occurred in the 

 height of the close season. A letter had been 

 addressed to the Secretary of the Institution, 

 pointing out that this was a bad breach of the 

 law and showed deplorable ignorance as to the 

 utility of the birds, who were undoubtedly 

 after the rats which had taken the chicks. 

 The Secretary wrote in reply that the offender 

 was a young man, a newly demobilised son 

 of the gardener, and that he had been severely 

 reprimanded, and it was hoped the Society 

 would take no action. It was ultimately 

 decided, in view of the character of the institu- 

 tion, not to prosecute in the case. 



OBITUARY. 



The Society, and the humane cause in 

 general, have lost by the death of Miss Florence 

 Ethel Minns, of Winchester, a friend who 

 added to deepest sincerity of heart, intellectual 

 vigour, untiring energy, and a ready pen. 

 Keenly interested in every side of the R.S.P.B. 

 w^ork, she frequently supported it in the 

 Press, and one of her last acts before the sudden 

 illness which caused her premature death, 

 was to give an address at the Barton Stacey 

 Bird and Tree Inter-County Festival. Miss 

 Minns, who was the only daughter of the late 

 Rev. G. W. Mnns, F.S.A., died on July 20th. 



BIRD AND TREE (ARBOR DAY) COM- 

 PETITION. 



The Essays sent in for competition are now 

 in the hands of the Society's Judges, and the 

 results will be made known to the Schools as 

 soon as possible. 



Teachers will note with interest that the 

 Home Office Bird Protection Committee pro- 

 pose to place " Bird Day " on the programme 

 of all schools throughout the country- (See 

 Supplement issued with this number of Bird 

 Notes and News.) 



