2 The Horrors of the Plume Trade 



That the parent birds must be shot in order to obtain the plumes. 



That the young birds in the nests must starve, in consequence of the death 

 of the parents. 



That all statements that the plumes are manufactured or are gathered after 

 being molted by the adult birds are false. Human skill cannot reproduce a feather, 

 and, after the breeding season, all Herons' plumes are worn and ragged, and are, 

 therefore, unfit for use. 



THE COST ( 



A l'[T"\[F.. THE PICTLTRE TELLS ITS OWN TALE 

 Photographed by A. H. E. Maltinglcy 



Mr. A. H. E. Mattingley, of Melbourne, graphically describes the horrors 

 he witnessed at a Heron rookery, in New South Wales, which had been raided 

 by plume-hunters, and verified his statements by the camera.* 



"Notwithstanding the extreme heat and the myriads of mosquitos, I deter- 

 mined to revisit the locality during my Christmas holidays, in order to obtain 

 one picture only, — namely, that of a White Crane, or Egret, feeding its young. 

 When near the ])lace, I could see some large ]:)atches of white, either floating in 

 the water, or reclining on the fallen trees in the vicinity of the Egret's rookery. 



♦Reprinted, by permission, from 'The Emu,' the official organ of the Australasian Ornitholo- 

 gists' Union. 



