The Oologists' Record, September. 1, 1923. 55 



Could not the Crossbill be included in Category I., or at all 

 €vents allowed the same chance as the Woodcock, and given a 

 special close time, say from the 1st of January ? 



I freely confess to the possession of a collection of eggs, but have 

 always abstained from taking the egg of any bird which I considered 

 to be rare, nor have I purchased any such egg from dealers. 



The Bill appears to have been drafted from an extreme point 

 of view. Lord Grey's speech was very severe. I do not think 

 there are many egg collectors whose ideal would be to find a bird 

 that had never bred in this country before, and was for the first 

 time nesting, then secure the eggs and hope that such a bird would 

 never breed in this country again. There may be a few of .these 

 individuals, but, whoever they are, they are not regarded with 

 favour by the ordinary collector. Most people will agree that the 

 authors of the Bill are quite at liberty to insert a clause which 

 would deal most drastically with such a person. 



Surely it is not the opinion of the authors of the Bill that all 

 egg collectors are such unreasonable creatures. Have they (the 

 authors) never taken an egg ? How many of our experts (past 

 and present) have commenced when boys by taking the egg of a 

 Hedge Sparrow ? How many of them would have followed this 

 up if they had had the opportunity of adding thereto ? 



Did the authors of our beautiful works on birds and birds' eggs 

 such as the Rev. F. 0. Morris, H. L. Meyer, H. E. Dresser, and 

 many others, never take an egg ? 



Is it not a fact that many of the best collections eventually 

 find their way to the museums ? There is no object in placing 

 every collector on a black list simply because a few may have abused 

 their position. 



There would appear to be several serious omissions in the Bill, 

 which does not take cognizance of, or define, a blown egg or an 

 addled egg. Is it seriously suggested that a person should be fined 

 £5 for taking an addled egg ? The idea is absurd. 



Take another point : — My only clutch of landrails is one which 

 was taken when the bird was killed by a mowing machine. Is a 

 person to be prosecuted and run the risk of being involved in a 

 possible penalty of £A5 because he preserved such a clutch instead 

 of leaving the eggs to rot in the nest, or be sucked by the first 

 Magpie or Weasel discovering them ? 



