28 Spring 



the root of the evil, for he at once offers an unfailing 

 market for the sale and exchange of specimens, and 

 by his action puts a premium on the extermination 

 of species. On the other hand, there has been during 

 recent years a distinct growth in the number of those 

 who, with no eye to the beauties of nature and no 

 studious aim, have taken to collecting as a light and 

 elegant amusement. One often sees them at work on 

 the shore, on waste or common land, and on farms 

 where the landlords, since the passing of the Ground 

 Game Act, have abandoned the shooting. But, to 

 realise how injurious to wild life this latest fancy is, 

 it is necessary to turn to one of the numerous manuals 

 of instruction drawn up for the guidance of beginners. 

 ' How many birds of the same kind do you want ?' 

 is a question asked in one of the best and most 

 reasonable of these popular handbooks, and the 

 answer is : ' All you can get with some reasonable 

 limitations ; say fifty or a hundred of any but the 

 most abundant and widely diffused species.' To 

 attain this end, the novice is exhorted to begin ' by 

 shooting every bird you can,' and he is assured that 

 he will ' do very well ' if he can average twelve birds 

 a day during the season, although forty or fifty will 

 be bagged by the adept. While the sportsman only 

 counts heads, however, the ornithologist must look 

 to variety ; and unless he has made a rare species 

 still rarer, has no ground for pride. On that account 

 his season is in autumn and in spring, when the dif- 



