Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 171 
Mr. Willett has done for Oxford what Mr. Rothschild has 
accomplished for Cambridge^ in secuiiug for the Uni- 
versity a piece o£ Wicken Fen, the haunt of the Swallow- 
tail Butterfly. The Ruskin Plot is situate at Cothillj near 
Abingdon^ Berks, and is not meant so much for collecting- 
purposes as for observation. It is hoped that a systematic 
record year by year of a piece of ground uninterfered with 
by cultivation will be in itself of considerable scientific 
interest. (Museum Journal, i. p. 139.) 
The Protection of Birds in New Zealand. — In common 
with New Zealand ornithologists, we have often deplored the 
traffic in the rare birds of that country, threatening, as it 
does, the extirpation at no distant time of many of the unique 
forms. The Government of our progressive Colony has at 
length devised an expedient which, we hope,w411putan effectual 
stop to this traffic. A measure has beeu passed by the local 
legislature, under the title of " The Maori Antiquities Act, 
1901,^' for the ostensible object of prohibiting the exportation 
of ancient carvings and other works of Maori art; but the 
Act is made far-reaching, and its provisions are extended to 
all '* objects of scientific value or of historic^al interest relating 
to New Zealand.^' There is a proviso exempting from its 
operation any'' botanical or mineral collections or specimens," 
but not zoological. This gives the Government the power to 
put down with a firm hand the dealers^ depredations, of which 
so much complaint has of late been heard. The new measure 
will give the very distinctive avifauna of New Zealand a 
chance of surviving ; and this will be a matter of delight to 
all lovers of birds. The last captured specimen of Notornis 
mantelli could only be kept in the colony by the Government 
coming forward and purchasing it, for .£250, for one of the 
local museums. This was in deference to strong public 
opinion on the subject. Under the present statute-law no 
such specimen could be sent away without the express 
written authority of the Colonial Secretary ; and we may be 
sure that this would not be granted, except perhaps in favour 
of some public museum. We heartily congratulate our 
