43 



commented On at the time, and no question was raised as to the 

 accuracy of the Blue Book figures. It is now vehemently contro- 

 verted by the spokesman of the feather-trade, who roundly 

 declares that these figures from the official Report are the " plat- 

 form mathematics " of " one of the purveyors of sensational 

 statements," though in the next paragraph he quotes their 

 source. In a letter dated July 29, 1910, the London Chamber 

 of Commerce asked the Consul at Ciudad Bolivar for the " correct 

 analysed returns" for 1898, having at the same time "reason 

 to believe that no analysis of the feather exports was undertaken 

 before 1905," and knowing that the feathers exported from 

 Venezuela are " mainly Egret feathers." It is to be noted that 

 this enquiry of the trade was not made until eleven years after 

 the return was published. It is, therefore, not surprising that no 

 official analysis could be supplied, and that the Acting Consul 

 could merely furnish figures obtained from the exporters them- 

 selves. According to these the export was about the same then 

 that it is now declared to be. 



It is also to be noted that in this application to the Consulate 

 the trade make no comment on the statement that the birds were 

 " killed." 



" Picked up " and " Picked out." 



" The Times " in 1900 published a description of plume-hunting, 

 as carried on in the United States, and following on this came a 

 letter signed *" K. Thomson," alleging the collection of moulted 

 feathers in Nicaragua and Venezuela. The writer averred that 

 the birds " being gifted with long necks," were so shy and difficult 

 of approach that it could never pay to attempt to kill them on 

 their roosting- trees,* and consequently the hunters only went 

 round and picked up the cast plumes ; also that these same birds 

 were so easily domesticated that one or two were " kept at every 

 house, and were very useful for killing vermin." Unhappily* 

 this witness like other witnesses called by the feather-trade, was 

 weak in his natural history ; he said that only the male Egret 

 bore the plumes, and that as the bird lifted them " after the style 



* The roosting-trees are not the building-places, and it is on the latter 

 that the birds are killed as they remain hovering above their nests. 



