APRIL 106 



this industry, and wild-fowling was restricted to seasons 

 when these birds are among the wariest and swiftest of 

 feathered creatures. 



Every bird, however, has to pass through the stage 

 of an egg, and of eggs the original act took no account 

 whatever. Now eggs, or rather egg-shells, owing to 

 their beauty, portability, and easy preservation, have 

 always been favourite objects of collection. They are 

 sought after not only by the managers of the zoological 

 museums, but they vie with butterflies and moths in 

 the esteem of multitudes of schoolboys. Consequently, 

 the trade of egg-collecting has become very brisk ; the 

 rarer the egg, the more diligent the search for it. Not 

 only so, but British collectors insist on being supplied 

 with British laid specimens. An egg is an egg, one 

 might think ; but no the egg of golden oriole or hoopoe 

 laid on the Continent may be had for a few pence ; it 

 is impossible to say how many guineas might be paid 

 for one certified to be taken in Britain. Regularly 

 organised expeditions used to set out each spring from 

 our great towns to visit remote places on the coast 

 frequented by such birds as the great skua, of which 

 only a limited number of pairs remained in existence. 



The act of 1894, therefore, was framed to give protec- 

 tion to the eggs of desirable species ; but inasmuch as 

 certain birds, though desirable in limited numbers, might 

 be undesirable hi multitudes, this act, unlike the original 

 act, did not prescribe a uniform schedule for the whole 

 kingdom. Taking advantage of the recently formed 

 county councils, it empowered these local parliaments 



