48 Reviews. [isf'ju 



Reviews. 



[" The Feather Trade : the Case for the Defence."] 



A PAPER by Mr. C. F. Downham, of Messrs. Sciama and Co. Ltd., 

 read before the London Chamber of Commerce in November, 

 igio, has been issued in neatly printed pamphlet form. The 

 paper purports to show " some facts and fallacies in connection 

 with the trade in fancy feathers." The author treats on " Rare 

 Birds, their Habits and Habitats," "The Ethics of Sport, &c.," 

 " The Egret," " BircL-of -Paradise," " India and Elsewhere," 

 &c. There is also a supplement containing some foreign laws 

 and copies of official correspondence — altogether the result of 

 much labour on the part of its author. 



The Melbourne Chamber of Commerce has requested a criticism 

 of the pamphlet from a local standpoint, and Mr. A. H. E. 

 Mattingley has obligingly complied. He opens the subject by 

 stating that the wearing of plumes of birds is a relic of barbarism, 

 which has evolved, through ages, down to the present-day 

 " fashion." This fashion is catered for by certain business people, 

 who establish a demand, each season, for certain articles for 

 personal adornment, and so " set " the fashion. Rich and poor 

 alike become its devotees, vying with each other in becoming as 

 fashionable as their finances permit. The fashion of wearing 

 the plumage of birds, as established by the " fashion " caterers, 

 has become not only popular, but has grown to alarming pro- 

 portions ; indeed, to-day it is well-nigh insatiable. The feather 

 traders, to supply this great demand, are depleting the world 

 of certain of its useful birds. Eminent naturalists agree that 

 the place of birds in nature is to police the earth and to preserve 

 law and order in our fields, forests, and waters by keeping 

 in check the ravages of noxious insects and animals which, if 

 unchecked, would devastate these parts. Thus, it is maintained 

 that birds are indissolubly linked with a country's domestic 

 economy and welfare. Therefore, it is asked, is the interest of 

 comparatively a few plumage merchants to endanger the greater 

 national interests of the agriculturist, pastoralist, orchardist, &c. ? 



From his connection with the trade Mr. Downham cannot be 

 suspected of being an unbiassed writer, but he need not descend to 

 disparaging remarks or irrelevances by calling his opponents in 

 opinion, who have no " axes to grind," " irresponsible senti- 

 mentalists," " reckless members of bird protection societies," &c. 



In connection with the method of collecting Egret plumes, the 

 value of " The Feather Trade " as a pamphlet is at once dis- 

 counted by the evidence of its principal witness, ]M. Leon Laglaize, 

 who at one time solemnly affirmed, as an eye-witness, that in 

 Venezuela, " after the breeding season, when the young ones 

 leave their nests to try their wings, the abandoned nests are 

 searched, and a valuable amount of feathers is collected there ; 

 the feathers have been skilfully rolled in to furnish and soften 

 the interior of the nest. These nest feathers are the best kind, 



