SEARCHING FOR THE WILLOW TIT. 77 



had arrived ; the one with the yellow neck, a rare fellow, this 

 being procured by Mr. Rothschild for his already grand collection 

 of Cassowaries, one of which figured in my essay entitled " The 

 Museum and Zoo at Tring ". 



During the journey to Woburn Sands for this was the 

 destination I had set my eyes on as a likely locality to find 

 the bird we were anxious to know more about Ernst Hartert 

 was good enough to favour me with his weighty opinion on 

 various matters of an interesting nature. It will not be out of 

 place in this essay to place such opinions on record, and 

 before proceeding with our ramble I propose to do so. 



The subject of the protection of birds claimed our attention 

 for a while, and in this respect the arguments of my esteemed 

 companion made a great impression upon me. Regarding the 

 Bird Laws of England, I suggested that they were not nearly 

 stringent enough, but in reply to this Mr. Hartert informed 

 me that in the land of his birth (Germany) the laws were 

 most exacting, and, as a result, the birds have not increased 

 one iota; cultivation has gone forward with such rapid strides 

 that certain birds have been in many instances driven right 

 away, and even if the laws of our own Country were as strict 

 as those of the Fatherland no other result would accrue. " If 

 you could stop cultivation, and extinguish men, the birds would 

 soon increase," said Mr. Hartert. 



As to wearing birds and their feathers for female adornment, 

 Mr. Hartert gave it as his opinion that statements of a most 

 erroneous kind were frequently made. For instance, a paper 

 in Germany once stated that a consignment of 800 Morocco 

 Parrots had arrived for female wear, whereas there is no 

 species of Parrot in that Country, and this Mr. Hartert pointed 

 out to the paper at the time the extraordinary announcement 

 was made. 



He complained of the way in which most birds were mutilated 

 when put on ladies hats. The milliners, he said, had no taste 

 whatever in that direction, and the only time that he had ever 

 seen a bird on a lady's hat which looked natural was a Humming 

 Bird on a hat at Berlin. 



It was only natural, said Mr. Hartert, this bird adornment. 

 The savage races of America, Africa, and elsewhere, from time 



