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HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 



drawn vertical bars of blue and scarlet, and 

 most of the fins are also red and blue, with a lus- 

 tre so intense at the edges that it looks like fire. 

 Moreover, the colour changes in a most attractive 

 way; sometimes there is no' blue visible, and the 

 fish is all red and bronze; at other times the red 

 has gone, and the fish not only has blue stripes 

 but a blue face as well. Paradise fish dc not 

 grow bigger than sprats, and are quiet in their 

 ways, so that a pair will do well in a little tank a 

 foot long; but they must be kept in a warm place, 

 being very susceptible to cold. , 



At the little naturalist's establishment in 

 Covent Garden which many of my readers will 

 remember, Paradise fish used, except in warm 

 weather, to have a little gas jet on underneath 

 their tank, and I never saw any looking so rich 

 in colour. They are nest-building fish, the male 

 blowifri'g bubbles with which he forms ,a little 

 house for the eggs; he has also another bird-like 

 habit of moving sideways with all his fins expanded 

 when in the courting mood. 



-$>- 



ROYAL GAME. 



A test case of considerable interest to sports- 

 men and farmers was brought before the Magis- 

 trate of Middleburg last week for the purpose of 

 deciding what constitutes Royal game. As is well 

 known (remarks the "Cape Argus") under the 

 game laws of this Province several species of 

 buck and birds are closely protected. This is a 

 wise provision. Were it not that koodoo, harte- 

 beest, blesbok, and similar animals had been 

 brought under the law relating to Royal game they 

 would no doubt have long since become extinct. 

 Generally speaking, no true sportsmen objects to 

 the protection given to these animals. But it was 

 made evident by the case tried at Middleburg 

 that the law, as administered, is in some respects 

 irritating and arbitrary. The facts may be briefly 

 summarised. Mr. Montagu Gadd, a well-known 

 and progressive Eastern Province farmer, and also 

 a thorough sportsman, has for many years past 

 gone to considerable expense and trouble to rear 

 Royal game on his property. He purchased orig- 

 inally a herd of nine blesbok from Sir Percey Fitz- 

 patrick, brought them down to Middleburg from 

 Harrismith, and for nine months fed them daily. 

 Other farmers in the district have done the same 

 with zebra, fallow deer, and Indian black buck. 

 But the question arose whom did these animals 

 belong to? The authorities held that they be- 

 longed to the Crown. Mr. Gadd, contended that 

 as he had bought them, reared them, and pro- 

 vided for their accommodation on his farm, thev 

 were his property. In order to test the point Mr. 



Gadd invited a police officer to visit his farm, and, 

 in the presence of the officer, he shot a blesbok 

 ram. In justification of his action Mr. Gadd 

 pleaded that as with tame animals, so with wild 

 animals, it is necessary when breeding to keep 

 the numbers down to certain proportions other- 

 wise the land would become overstocked and 

 herds and flocks would suffer. No farmer permits 

 the number of his sheep or cattle to increase be- 

 yond the capacity of his veld, and, at stated periods 

 he found it necessary to thin cut the Royal game, 

 which, he contended, belonged to him personally. 

 The legal point at issue was fully argued, and 

 ultimately the magistrate, in delivering judgment, 

 agreed with the contention of the defendant. He 

 said: "The game laws might have served con- 

 ditions in the past, but they were to-day entirely 

 out of sympathy with present conditions. They 

 were certainly irksome to those wno conserved 

 game. Far from breaking the law, the accused 

 had carried out the spirit of the law, and con- 

 served game ever since he took occupation of 

 the farm." For these reasons the accused was 

 found net guilty and discharged. Under the cir- 

 cumstances, this seems a reasonable finding, and 

 had the magistrate, in delivering his judgment, 

 stopped there, his decision might have been ac- 

 cepted as, more or less, establishing the principle 

 that men who breed Royal game on their own 

 properties are justified in disposing of it as they 

 think fit. But, unfortunately, the magistrate added 

 in rider. He said that his finding "would not 

 preclude the prosecutor bringing the case to the 

 notice of the Attorney-General for a definite rul- 

 ing." What is really needed is a judicial decision. 

 That can only be got from the judges. It is no 

 part of the duty of the Attorney-General, or any 

 other official of the Government, to instruct magis- 

 trates, directly or indirectly, how they are to deal 

 with points of law that are raised before them. 

 Magistrates must be, in such matters, independent 

 or they cannot command the confidence of the 

 public. 



— ® 



BRITAIN'S WILD BIRDS. 



PRESERVATION PROPOSALS. 



SUNDAY A "CLOSE DAY." 



Lovers of wild birds will be greatly interested 

 in the important recommendations contained in the 

 report of the Departmental Committee on the Pro- 

 tection of wild birds which was issued as a White 

 Paper by the Home Office yesterday. For the pur- 

 pose of advising the central authorities, the Com- 

 mittee recommend that an Ornithological Advisory 

 Committee should at once be set up in London 



