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SUPPLEMENT TO BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



in ribbon, lace, velvet, artificial flowers, etc., must 

 suffer in proportion ; and a strong appeal to the 

 bishops and clergy of all denominations, begging 

 them to preach in all the churches against this 

 wanton waste of life, which was a disgrace to our 

 Christianity, in order that henceforth no woman 

 might sin in ignorance. 



A proposition from Mrs. Edward Phillips that a 

 public protest, signed by leading ornithologists, 

 against the bird-exterminating fashion of" murder- 

 ous millinery," should be addressed to the Queen ; 

 and a further suggestion for a petition of a similar 

 kind from the women of England ; were referred to 

 the Council. — Mrs. J. H. Thornely (Birkenhead) 

 and Mr. Edward Ash (Headingley) advocated 

 arrangements being made with milliners all over 

 England for a general show of birdless millinery, 

 such as had been successfully organised at South- 

 port.— Mrs. Nelson (New Maiden) spoke of the 

 encouragement due to milliners who refused to sell, 

 or at least to display, b : rds and " ospreys," as was 

 the case with two leading firms in her suburb ; if 

 large establishments could be induced to do this 

 the smaller ones would follow. — Miss Conyers 

 (Ilkley) indicated the difficulty of approaching the 

 wearers of plumes, a matter requiring much tact, 

 and likely to be met with more careful consideration 

 from ladies when they were not caught, so to speak, 

 red-handed. 



Captain Tailby thought the first suggestion went 

 to the root of the matter, since everybody took 

 example from the leaders of Society. Etiquette 

 prevented people bringing the matter plainly before 

 the Queen personally, and therefore the only way 

 was by means of a public protest which could not 

 be burked, and must reach her ; and he was sure 

 that Her Majesty would then be the very first in 

 the land to back up the objects of this Society. 

 He ventured to say that ninety-nine out of every 

 hundred women of all ranks did not read leaflets 

 or newspapers. The second point was to persuade 

 the clergy to talk to their congregations ; they had 

 the advantage that their hearers could not escape 

 them. Thirdly, there was the Press. Not only 

 were foreign birds killed to supply plumes, but 

 gulls and terns were being worn by the lowest 

 classes, and since that was the case, there was 

 practically no limit to the slaughter of our own 

 British birds. — Mr. King heartily supported an 

 appeal being made to the Queen by the women of 

 England. — Mrs. Fisher Unwin urged the pre- 

 paration of posters representing the slaughter 

 and desolation produced in the South American 

 heronries by the plume-hunters. — The Rev. A. 



Ellison said he felt that the clergy might do a good 

 deal for the preservation of rare birds, and for the 

 checking of plumage-wearing, not perhaps always 

 by sermons, but certainly in lectures. They 

 no doubt had exceptional opportunities for per- 

 sonal influence, and a large number of them took 

 an interest in bird-life. He thought it would be 

 worth while to make another appeal to them for 

 help. 



Methods of Work. 



To the section devoted more especially to the 

 working of the Society, Mr. W. Percival Westell 

 (St. Albans) contributed a paper on " Individual 

 Effort," in which he dwelt upon the necessity for 

 timely zeal in order to enlist the practical sympathy 

 of the many persons interested in birds, and to 

 turn them into bird-protectors and supporters ot 

 the Society. The wearing of plumage was, he 

 believed, in almost every instance the result of 

 ignorance, and a word in season might result in 

 the headgear being thrown on the rubbish-heap. 

 Those branch secretaries who could lecture, pre- 

 ferably illustrating their remarks by lantern slides, 

 might secure many converts to the preservation of 

 wild life, and also raise funds. In lecturing to 

 school children he made a practice of offering- 

 prizes for the best essays upon the. lecture, and 

 the results had been as pleasant as they were 

 surprising. There was often an opportunity of 

 speaking a kind word to boys met rambling down 

 country lanes ; of taking parties of juveniles or 

 adults for country walks and talks ; of a word in 

 season to gamekeeper, farmer, or bailiff ; of writing 

 an opportune letter to the local Press. He had 

 been much struck in the last year or two by the 

 kindly feeling towards birds shown by many of 

 the younger boys, and considered that too much 

 importance could not be attached to the inclusion 

 of Nature study in the school curriculum. 



Mrs. Boyle (Kensington) recommended that local 

 secretaries should seek especially to interest people 

 in living birds, and to encourage a knowledge of the 

 songs and notes of birds. Could not they some- 

 times take out little parties of adults or children 

 and teach them to know the various songs of "our 

 minor poets"? It was quite extraordinary how 

 few people knew one bird from another by its 

 notes. 



Miss E. Smith (Sutton) advocated the formation 

 of a lending library of ornithological works for the 

 use of secretaries ; probably writers of books would 

 give copies of their works to the Society for this 

 purpose. — The suggestion was referred to the 

 Council. 



