47 [VoLxli. 



is where the harm o£ egg-collecting comes in, and it is, I 

 regret to say, often indulged in by those who should know 

 better. Much may doubtless be learnt from series of eggs, 

 but the science of oology is still in its infancy, and I would 

 suggest to those students that they would achieve a more 

 useful purpose by accumulating series, where necessary, of 

 the commoner species and leaving rarities alone. Any way, 

 we have to take the world as we find it, and consequently 

 all rare breeding birds should be protected throughout the 

 year. Though less to blame, the skin-collector is not beyond 

 reproach, as his passion for a " rare bird " has often pre- 

 vented our rarer migrants from settling down to breed, as 

 has been recently shown by the re-establishment of the 

 Bittern on the Norfolk Broads. I am glad to think, 

 however, that the skin-collector is usually a man with a 

 gun — rather than a scientific collector. Beyond this, com- 

 plete protection during the breeding season should be all 

 that is required to keep our native bird fauna, and our 

 present laws are perhnps fairly good on the whole ; they 

 fail in being too much complicated by the innumerable 

 Schedules, which differ according to the. whims of County 

 Councillors, subject to the approval of a Home Secretary 

 who is not chosen for his ornithological knowledge. 



When any species has been proved to be harmful, then a 

 special and " official " campaign should be made against it, 

 rather than by including it in Schedules ; and vice versa if it 

 be desired to increase a species, for the increase or decrease 

 of a fairly abundant species cannot be brought about directly, 

 but only by working in conjunction with Nature^s Laws, the 

 two most important of which are Food and Reproduction. 



Mr. Edgar Chance is arranging for Dr. Eugene Ray's 

 work on the Cuckoo to be translated. 



Will those interested in becoming possessed of a copy of 

 this translated work communicate with Mr. Chance, who 

 will be pleased to supply details ? Address : 9 Hay Hill, W. 1. 



