ON THE PROTECTION OF WILD BIRDS' EGGS. 553 



found that its main clause contained a provision for the protection of 

 •wild birds' eggs. In the opinion of your Committee, however, this pro- 

 vision was framed on a principle that appears to them to be mistaken, 

 in that it sought to effect the desired object by empowering local autho- 

 rities to name the species the eggs of which were to be protected, thus 

 requiring in every case of prosecution proof of identity, which in the 

 majority of cases would be difficult, if not impossible, to supply. Never- 

 theless, the Bill met with favourable acceptance in the House of Commons, 

 and with some very trifling alterations only, and without any discussion 

 •of its principle, passed the third reading, and was seat up to the House 

 of Lords on May 2. In the House of Lords the chief objection to the 

 Bill, which had already been observed by your Committee, was, among 

 others, prominently brought forward by several speeches in a debate on 

 the second reading, June 14, and accordingly a series of amendments 

 were introduced and carried when the Bill was in committee, on June 16. 

 In almost every point these amendments, and especially one which pro- 

 vided that protection should be giver to birds which most required it 

 hj empowering local authorities to name areas in which for a given time 

 the taking of eggs should be wholly prohibited, accorded with the 

 opinion at which your Committee had previously arrived. Subsequently, 

 the Bill was further amended by the Standing Committee of the House 

 of Lords, and, having been read a third time, was sent back to the House 

 of Commons for its approval of their Lordships' amendments. 



These your Committee, after duly considering them, had hoped 

 would be at once accepted by the House of Commons ; but, on August 21, 

 on the motion of Sir H. Maxwell, it was moved that consideration of 

 them should be adjourned for three months, and therefore the fate of the 

 Bill remains doubtful. 



In view of the uncertainty thus existing your Committee would 

 recommend their reappointment on the same terms as before. 



Index Generum et Specierum Animalium. — Report of the Covi- 

 mittee, consisting of Sir W. H. Flower, Dr. P. L. Sclater, 

 Dr. H. Woodward, and Mr. G-. Brook (Secretary), for super- 

 vising its compilation by INIr. C. Davies Sherborn. 



This index, commenced in 1890, was continued by the compiler un- 

 assisted until 1892, when the British Association made a grant of 201. in 

 aid of the work. The compilation continues to progress satisfactorily, 

 about 200 volumes having been searched through, and over 10,000 

 species having been indexed during the past year. The work is extremely 

 laborious, chiefly by reason of the difficulty in many cases of determining 

 the exact date of publication of the book under examination ; bat the 

 results of the solution of difficult problems of this kind are invariably 

 made public so soon aa their accuracy has been satisfactorily proved. Of 

 these results the publication of the dates of Schreber's ' Saugthiere ' by the 

 Zoological Society of London in their ' Proceedings ' for ] 891 may be 

 cited. Of the books examined this year the accurate determination of 

 the dates of the ' Encyclopedic Methodique ' is, perhaps, the most important 



