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Correspondence.



powerful union which will include all the British and Foreign

aviculturists; it would then be possible to issue a much larger and

more interesting magazine, with coloured plates and a much greater

amount of original reading matter under one cover. I would suggest,

too, that more space should then be devoted to notes and articles on

British and foreign wild birds ; travellers doubtless could give us

splendid descriptions of a popular nature of their experiences amongst

the birds of the various countries visited. I recall two intensely

interesting articles which came out in the early volumes of the

Avicultural Magazine—“ The Birds of Ecuador,” by Mr. W. Good-

fellow, and “ Birds of the Bahamas ”, by Mr. Bonhote. There must

and will be numbers of people who could write interesting notes

which would he of very great value to our members, but not perhaps

scientific enough for publication in the Ibis. Again, since the

Zoologist was given up there is a great want of a popular magazine

for British bird notes and descriptions of bird life in this country in

general. I know, of course, that we have that most interesting

magazine British Birds, hut it again is of a pretty high scientific

nature rather after the style of Ibis, and the Editors would not wish

to fill up their pages with notes and articles such as used to appear

in the Zoologist when in its palmy days.


Surely in these days of great business amalgamations the

Councils of the Avicultural Society and Foreign Bird Club could

meet together and produce a magnificent scheme for the good of

Ornithology in its widest sense; members then would not mind

paying the larger subscription, because they know that they would

he getting the best value possible instead of keeping up two Societies,

one in opposition to the other. This I believe to he the ideal plan,

but if not acceptable I would take a leaf from this “ Distressful

Country ” of mine ; here we have a little magazine called the Irish

Naturalist, which in spite of party fights does duty as the official

magazine of no less than seven different Natural History Societies.

If this can he done in Ireland, surely in England enough unity could

be obtained amongst naturalists to carry through a scheme on the

above lines.—Yours very truly,


W. H. Workman, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.



