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Reviews.



liberties, and their happiness. “ The whole earth,” writes Professor

Osborn, “is a poorer place to live in when a colony of exquisite

“ Egrets or Birds of Paradise is destroyed in order that the plumes

“ may decorate the hat of some lady of fashion, and ultimately find

“ their way into the rubbish heap.” .... “ The facts and figures


“ set forth in this volume will astonish all those lovers of Nature and

“ friends of the animal world who are living in a false or imaginary

“ sense of security. The logic of these facts is inexorable.”


There are 44 chapters, each one teeming with interest for the

ornithologist and the humane hearted, but of such a nature that if

the pages of this book are perused before bed-time, one wonders what

form of night-mare one will have to go through, during sleep ?

What concerns us in England in the first place is to be especially

found in the chapter upon the “ Extermination of birds for women’s

hats,” for London has the greatest feather market in the world, the

feather industry wants the money , and the London feather industry

is willing to spend money in fighting to retain its strangle-hold on

the unprotected birds of the world.


Our Society was founded for the study of British and foreign

birds in freedom and captivity. We who are members love them in

their freedom, and when we limit that freedom by keeping a few of

them in what is called captivity, we still afford them liberty to live,

liberty to sing, liberty to propagate their species, as the granting of

medals to various members for the latter accomplishment, proves.

But the captivity which means unmerciful destruction for mere

gourmandizing and adornment of hats for personal vanity, we will

have none of. We aviculturists love our birds, and when we read

Mr. Hornaday’s account of “the Bird tragedy on Laysan Island”—

Chap. XIY. — we must needs rise up and turn militant, because

“London has the greatest feather-market in the world.” On Layson

300,000 albatrosses, gulls, and terns, were butchered with the most

revolting and heartless cruelty during the space of several consecutive

months, the wings being cut from living birds which were left to die

of hemorrhage. There is a photograph in the book, taken in 1911,

showing acres of albatross bones bleaching in the sun : the feathers

of which birds have been used to trim and “ adorn ” the hats of the

women of “civilized” nations! “What the eye does not see the



