238 BIRDS AND MAN 



This is the case, and that it is a bad one, and well- 

 nigh hopeless, no man will deny. Nevertheless, I 

 believe that it may be possible to find a remedy. 



That " destruction of beautiful things," about 

 which Ruskin wrote despairingly, " of late ending 

 in perfect blackness of catastrophe, and ruin of all 

 grace and glory in the land," has fallen, and con- 

 tinues to fall, most heavily on the beautiful bird life 

 of our country. But the destruction has not been 

 unremarked and unlamented, and the existence of 

 a strong and widespread public feeling in favour of 

 the preservation of our wild birds has of late shown 

 itself in many ways, especially in the unopposed 

 legislation on the subject during the last few years, 

 and the willingness that Government and Parlia- 

 ment have shown recently to consider a new Act. 

 There is no doubt that this feeling will grow until 

 it becomes too strong even for the selfish Philis- 

 tines, who are blind to all grace and glory in 

 nature, and incapable of seeing anything in a rare 

 and beautiful bird but an object to be collected. 

 Those who in the years to come will inherit the 

 numberless useless private collections now being 

 formed will make haste to rid themselves of such 

 unhappy legacies, by thrusting them upon local 

 museums, or by destroying them outright in their 



