150 
THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS IN HUNGARY 
ning, i. e. from 1868, took a direct part in the negotiations, 
generally as final court of appeal, — for, as is well known, 
in the case of international negotiations the opposition of one 
single party may overthrow the whole action. 
Henceforward, as we know, the question of international 
bird-protection was always treated in organic connexion with 
agriculture : so, as is quite natural, the literature of the West 
began slowly to follow the same tendency which was made 
to serve the purposes of private enterprise too. 
1892. As early as 1892, a foreign firm ^ applied to the Hungarian 
Ministry of Agriculture, offering a work published by them 
(„Deutschlands niitzliche und schadliche Vogel") for trans- 
lation. 
As the Ministry had no special expert among its officials 
at the time, it applied to the Royal Hungarian Natural- 
Historical Society for an opinion. The latter referred the 
matter to the present writer, who in his report, which included 
a thorough criticism of the work, opposed the idea of taking 
it over and emphatically declared for the publication of an 
original work for the writing of which, in his opinion, there 
were plenty of experts available. 
But the changes in the construction of the Cabinet, which 
always affect tendencies, delayed the carrying out of the plan, 
though they did not discourage the efforts of the experts 
whose collaboration had been invited, who continued to make 
preparations. 
The writer of the work had long been fixed upon in the 
person of Stephen Chernel de Csernelhaz who had not 
merely the expert knowledge but also, as we say, the pen 
to overcome the difficulties of language : while as illustrator, 
who could devote himself entirely to the work, the choice 
^ Parey, of Berlin. 
