16 



Bird Notes and News 



VERDICT OF SCIENTIFIC 

 SOCIETIES. 



The Trustees of the British Museum, 

 the Zoological Society of London, the 

 Society for the Promotion of Nature 

 Reserves, the British Ornithologists' Union 

 and the Council of the R.S.P.C.A. are all 

 in favour of the Bill, and have passed 

 resolutions accordingly. The B.O.U., it 

 should, however, be mentioned, endorsed 

 the principle without binding themselves 

 to all the details of the measure, on 

 on account of the regulations with 

 regard to collectors. 



Resolutions in support of the BiD 

 have also been passed unanimously by 

 the following among other societies ; 

 and the list might no doubt have been 

 largely added to had opportunity 

 occurred to elicit the opinion of the 

 members of a greater number, since the 

 Bill was brought in in February. 



The Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh. 



Ashmolean Natural History Society of 

 Oxfordshire. 



Birmingham Natural History and Philo- 

 sophical Society. 



Birmingham and Midland Institute Scien- 

 tific Society. 



Birmingham Field Naturalists Society. 



Bradford Natural History Society. 



Buteshire Naturalists Society. 



Cheltenham Natural Science Society. 



Croydon Natural History and Scientific 

 Society. 



Eastbourne Natural History Society. 



Glasgow Natural History Society. 



Hastings and St. Leonards Natural His- 

 tory Society 



Kirkcaldy Naturalists Society. 



Malvern Field Club. 



North Staffordshire Field Club (over 700 

 members). 



Nottingham Naturalists Society. 



Preston Scientific Society. 



Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural 

 History Society. 



Stirling Natural History Society. 



Warrington Field Club. 



Worcestershire Naturalists Club. 



Yorkshire Naturalists Union, representing 

 over forty societies, among them being : 

 the Bradford Scientific Association ; 

 Cleveland Naturalists Club ; Craven 

 Naturalists Association ; Crosshill 

 Naturalists Society ; Darlington and 

 Teesdale Naturalists Field Club ; Don- 

 caster Scientific Society ; East Riding 

 Nature Study Association ; Halifax 

 Scientific Society ; Huddersfield Natur- 

 alists and Photographic Society ; Hull 

 Scientific and Field Naturalists Club ; 

 Leeds Naturalists Club and Scientific 

 Association ; Malton, Ravensthorpe. 

 Barnsley, Rotherham, Thirsk, Wake- 

 field, and York Naturalists Societies ; 

 Scarborough Field Naturalists Society ; 

 Selby Scientific Society ; Sheffield 

 Naturalists Club. 



The Hon. N. Charles Rothschild, M.P., 



Chairman of the Society for Promotion of 



Nature Reserves, writes to the Times 



(March, 3rd, 1914) to point out that 



the self-constituted committee designated 



" ' The Committee for the Economic Preser- 

 vation of Birds,' whose executive includes 

 several well-known dealers in plumage, 

 appear to have induced the trade generally 

 to give, by a kind of self-denying ordinance, 

 a pledge that they will not deal in the 

 plumage of seven species of birds. As, 

 however, three of these are strictly protected 

 and only to be obtained by smuggling, 

 while the remainder are little used in the 

 trade, one is forced to the conclusion that 

 the object of the committee is less in the 

 interests of preserving rare birds than in 

 those of preserving the principal part of 

 the trade in their plumage. 



" One thing is certain, that many of the 

 most beautiful birds have never been in 

 greater need of protection than at the present 

 time, and it is to be hoped that every effort 

 will be made to a-ccelerate the passage of 

 the Bill." 



