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The Marquis of Tavistock.



which do not exist in every part of the country, and that species

which have not done well with us might succeed in establishing

themselves amid more suitable surroundings. Our garden is unfor¬

tunately by no means an ideal home for any bird needing shelter and

seclusion, as it is very scantily provided with winter cover, a defect

which the heavy clay soil makes it extremely difficult to remedy,

since many of the most useful evergreen trees gifrw slowly and thrive

none too well. It is also more or less surrounded at a distance by

large woods which tend to draw the birds away; and last, but not

least, it is the happy hunting ground of owls — both brown and white,

— endowed with a perverted appetite for feathered game which an

unlimited supply of rats and mice renders wholly inexcusable. It

is, therefore, not to be wondered at that our losses have at times

been heavy and disappointing, and that more than one promising

experiment has ended in failure.


Australian Crested Doves (Ocijphaps lophotes ) were among

the earliest introductions, and although they do not appear to

increase from year to year, their numbers are well maintained, and

no fresh importation seems necessary. Most of the original birds

were turned out with cut wings, so that they had plenty of time

to become accustomed to their surroundings before they gradually

regained their powers of flight. Their welfare has twice been

seriously threatened by outbreaks of disease, but, fortunately, on

neither occasion did the mischief get quite beyond control. About six

years ago, the wild Turtle Doves, which visit the gardens in large

numbers, were found to be suffering from canker, a highly infectious-

disease of the throat, well known to pigeon fanciers. How they

started it will always remain a mystery, but probably one of them

had come into contact with a diseased domestic bird and soon spread

the infection among his fellows. The results w r ere most disastrous;

large numbers of South American Spotted Pigeons were lost, and

practically the entire stock of Barbary Doves, Senegal Doves, and

other foreign members of the genus Turtur. When the infection

had become really bad, the Crested Doves also began to die, and for

a time things looked very bad indeed. Fortunately, however, when

the autumn migration removed the Turtle Doves, an improvement

set in, and by the beginning of winter the disease had apparently



