Arthur G. Butler—My Experiences as Correspondence Secretary G9


to have had any experience, that I might call upon other members of

the Council to reply'to my correspondents.


I had already had some work of this kind, inasmuch as I had been

answering queries each week since 1892 in the pages of the Feathered

World and Canary and Cage-bird Life ; possibly it was for this reason

that I was chosen by the Society to undertake it. Answering questions,

however, was not the only work which I willingly undertook. In the

early days of the Society all the members of the Executive received

proofs of each number of the Magazine for correction, and these were

returned to the Editor for his consideration before he sent his final

revise to the printers. This plan naturally tended to delay publication,

as well as causing a certain amount of irritation, and was eventually

set aside ; but, as a check upon printer’s errors, my willingness to con¬

tinue to examine proofs was welcomed by the Editor, my fitness for

the work since the publication of my first zoological paper in 1865

being probably taken for granted.


To answer questions of various kinds one not only needs a certain

amount of practical experience, but also a fairly good library;

fortunately I had already acquired the latter, which I considered

necessary for a student not actually living in town and so in touch with

the libraries of the Linnean, Zoological, and other Societies. But even

the possession of many books will not always serve to enable one to

answer indefinite queries or partial descriptions of birds. Occasionally

I have been requested to give information upon matters which were

undoubtedly not ornithological. Some years ago a lady wrote to me,

saying that she had seen an answer of mine (she was not one of our

Members) respecting a Parrot which had plucked its breast bare of

feathers and made it sore, and I had suggested that possibly castor oil

rubbed on the breast might check the bad habit and would probably allay

the soreness. She said that her hair was growing very thin, and would

like to know if castor oil would strengthen it, or if I could recommend

some other hair-restorer, as she had tried several without any good

results ! I replied that hair-restorers were often recommended by

persons who were themselves perfectly bald, that I myself only used

hot water each morning, and that I had not observed any increase

in the tonsure which I had for some years past exhibited, nor had my

hair become noticeably greyer.



