EXOTIC BIRDS FOB BRITAIN. hi 
truth — a truism — that it is easier to destroy than 
to restore or build up ; nevertheless, some comfort 
is to be got from the reflection that in this matter 
we have up till now been working against Nature. 
She loves not to bring forth food where there are 
none to thrive on it ; and when our unconsidered 
action had made these gaps, when, despising her 
gifts or abusing them, we had destroyed or driven 
out her finer kinds, she fell back on her lowlier 
kinds — her reserve of coarser, more generalized 
species — and gave them increase, and bestowed the 
vacant places which we had created on them. 
What she has done she will undo, or assist us in 
undoing; for we should be going back to her 
methods, and should have her with and not against 
us. Much might yet be done to restore the balance 
among our native species. Not by legislation, 
albeit all laws restraining the wholesale destruction 
of bird life are welcome. On this subject the 
Honourable Auberon Herbert has said, and his 
words are golden : — " For myself, legislation or no 
legislation, I would turn to the friends of animals 
in this country, and say, 'If you wish that the 
friendship between man and animals should become 
a better and truer thing than it is at present, you 
must make it so by countless individual efforts, 
by making thousands of centres of personal in- 
fluence.' " 
