SELBORNIANA. 
217 
any extent, is another matter which, as it seems to us, should be discouraged by bota- 
nists. A few days since we saw in the possession of one collector, who advertises 
such plants for sale, some twenty or thirty fine specimens of Orchis purpurea, ob- 
tained this year in Kent. With introducers on one side, and exterminators on the 
other, our indigenous flora seems likely to fare badly. 
Was he a Gentleman ?— A writer in the Globe of September 14th, writing 
from Worthing, says : — “A lovely parrot has been flying about for weeks to the 
delight of scores of us, supporting himself by moderate attacks on various gardens. 
Unfortunately he alighted in one owned by a man who may be considered a 
gentleman, because he is a member of our club ; he captures and kills the 
wanderer. ” 
Ostrich Feathers. — A writer in the Daily News complains of the cruelty 
exercised in plucking ostrich feathers, and is satisfactorily answered by another 
contributor, who writes as follows : — “ The letter signed ‘ Philo ’ is contrary to my 
experience of seventeen years amongst ostriches and ostrich farmers. That such 
a practice as ‘ pulling ’ feathers was in vogue t^venty-five years ago, in the 
early days of ostrich farming, by ignorant Dutchmen, cannot be denied ; and it 
may be to those times your correspondent refers. Now feathers are not ‘ pulled 
by the handful with vigorous jerks that taxed the strength of strong men,’ 
as your correspondent states. They are, when ripe, carefully cut from the 
birds, the quills being allowed to remain in the sockets for eight weeks, during 
which time the new feather has partially grown, allowing the dead quill to be re- 
moved painlessly. Apart from humanitarian principles, and judged from a purely 
commercial point of view, the farmers (now almost exclusively of the intelligent 
English and colonial class) would not adopt such a suicidal method as ‘ pulling,’ 
which would destroy the delicate cell in which the ostrich feather is formed, and 
render the bird valueless. I shall feel, -Sir, obliged by your kindly inserting this 
in your next issue, so as to correct the false inqjressions ‘ Philo,’ in excess of zeal, 
may have spread abroad with respect to an important industry, and to allay any 
tender pangs of conscience women may feel as to the propriety of wearing the 
most beautiful of all natural ornaments.” The matter, as our readers will remem- 
ber, was fully discussed in Natitke Notes for March, 1890. 
The Warehousevian for October 22nd censures the Selborne Society for 
denouncing the plucking of ostrich feathers, but, as far as we are aware, the 
censure is undeserved. 
To the Ladies.— Fashionable women maybe interested in knowing that last 
summer 15,500 nightingales, red-throats, fly-catchers, &c., were caught for fashion 
purposes alone in two forests in France. In tw'o or three provinces a like exter- 
mination goes on, so that, at least, over a million little birds must be annually 
destroyed. Electricity is now being employed in catching and killing these harm- 
less creatures. Wires are stretched across fields on which tired birds perch only 
to drop down dead with an electric shock. Nearly all the birds destroyed are 
insect-eaters, so a day of terrible retribution is in store for the farmers and fruit- 
growers who now profit by their slaughter. — Million. 
Earbed Wire. — The following appeared in the Manchester Guardian of 
August 2nd : — “ During the holiday season there will not be lacking some vigorous 
maledictions on the barbed wire fences by which certain owners and occupiers en- 
deavour to protect their fields and woods from the unwelcome attentions of wander- 
ing tourists. It is, no doubt, true that a minority of holiday-makers are not 
always careful to remember that private rights are guaranteed by existing laws, and 
that a farmer or landowner may justly complain if his acres are treated simply as 
part of the public domain. This is, of course, more especially the case when the 
thoughtless pleasure-seeker damages the crop of growing cereals or fruit. On the 
other hand, there is too much in this country of a churlish spirit which appears to 
find its greatest satisfaction in hindering the enjoyment of others. To persons of 
such a disposition the barbed wire, except where it contributes to their own dis- 
comfort, must be a thing of joy. Some members of the Selborne Society have 
been inquiring whether the use of this particular kind of fence does not citme 
under the prohibition of the Offences against the Person Act of 1871. That Act, 
it will be remembered, makes it an offence punishable with five years’ penal ser- 
