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Correspondence.



“swamps where they were shed and dropped by the Egrets, is ENTIRELY

“PREPOSTEROUS AND INCREDIBLE. The whole proposition is denounced by

“ several men of standing and experience, none of whom are ‘ inconnu.’ ”


Mr. Hornaday proceeds to quote a letter to him by Mr. E. H. Mcllhennv

from Avery Island, La—written just a year ago; in which, amongst other

things, he writes : speaking of the Egrets he has on his strictly protected ground,

on which there are now (OWING TO PROTECTION) fully 2,500 pairs of 1 Snowy

Herons ’ and altogether not less than 20,000 pairs of various species of Herons

and Egrets—“ I have had these Herons under my close inspection for the past

“ seventeen years, and I have not in any one season picked up or seen more than

“ a dozen discarded plumes. I remember that last year I picked up four plumes

“ of the Snowy Heron that were in one bunch. I think these must have been

“plucked out of fighting birds.


“ This year I have found only one plume so far. I enclose it herewith.

“You will notice that it is one of the shorter plumes, and is badly worn at the

“end, as have been all the plumes which I have picked up in my Heronry. I

“ am positive that it is not possible for natural shed plumes to be gathered

“ commercially. I have a number of times talked with plume-hunters from

“ Venezuela and other South American countries, and I have never heard of any

“ Egret feathers being gathered by being picked up after the birds have shed them.”


In conclusion I must add that had I seen Dr. Butler’s article before it

went to press, this letter would have been published as an accompaniment to it,

or else I should have asked Dr. Butler to cut out certain paragraphs.


Hubert D. Astley, Editor.



AN ANSWER.—By LORD WILLIAM PERCY.


SIR,—In the June number of the Avicultural Magazine an article appeared,

entitled “For Love of Science,” from the pen of Dr. Butler, which was read by

more than one member with some astonishment.


It consisted of a lamentation on the evil effects of Bird Protection in

general, and its baneful influence on the activities of collectors and aviculturists

in particular, and he goes out of his way to say a word in defence of the plumage

hunter and the egg collector, and asks us to regard them as victims of the mis¬

placed zeal of the bird protectionist.


Some of the arguments with which this article was fortified were novel.

Let us take a few samples.


From it we learn that Egret plumes are not, as we supposed, taken from

the body of freshly-killed birds, but are (in Venezuela) invariably gathered as

moulted plumes lying thickly on the bushes and at the foot of the trees near the

lagunos where these birds breed. Such travesties of the truth may be good

enough to pass muster with, and salve the conscience of the fair lady who buys

the plumes, but it is a little surprising to find such nonsense quoted by Dr.

Butler. Never having been in Venezuela I cannot contradict the statement from



