Meetings of Section IV. 57 



adapted in the United States. At the present time the con- 

 flict of opinion in this question was so great that it was 

 really impossible to decide as to the merits of any measure 

 yet adopted, or of any proposed measure. 



The system of legislation by County Council had proved 

 quite inadequate, and the same was true where fishery-boards 

 were concerned. Our knowledge as to the harm or good 

 done by birds was too rudimentary, while both preventative 

 and protective measures alike rested rather on prejudice than 

 fact. 



So far, all that the Board of Agriculture had done was to 

 issue a few leaflets which carried no weight whatever, the 

 statements therein being founded on compilations from ancient 

 writers such as Gilbert White, MacGillivray, Morris's 

 British Birds, Waterton's Essays, and so on. Direct obser- 

 vations and modern records were conspicuous by their 

 absence, save in one or two very exceptional cases, and even 

 here the data were quite insufficient. 



He urged that a scientific Ornithologist should be 

 appointed — one combining a knowledge of field ornithology 

 and anatomy. It should be the business of this officer to 

 investigate minutely the food of all British Birds, at all times 

 of the year, paying special attention to those species which 

 had so far come under the severest condemnation. 



The Secretary (Dr. Penrose) thought it would be 

 extremely difficult to know where to draw the line at which 

 it would be possible to say that any given species was 

 a vanishing one, and that the few remaining individuals 

 should be secured for preservation in museums for scientific 

 purposes as suggested by Mr. Rothschild. He instanced the 

 Kite. There were known to be only a few remaining 

 individuals, and if the Kite was a truly insular form, 

 then if he understood Mr. Rothschild rightly, the suggestion 

 would be that those individuals should be obtained and pre- 

 served in a museum, whereas if they were identical with the 

 European Red Kite, then every effort should be made to pro- 

 tect and preserve them alive. Although in full sympathy 

 with Mr. Rothschild's proposal, he feared it would prove 

 impracticable. He felt sure Mr. Lemon had hit the right 

 nail on the head when he suggested that an improvement in 



