SELBORNIANA. 
217 
grazing flocks and skipping lambs, on English hamlets nestling in untrimmed 
trees, on English hedgerows and lavish wild flowers, on village churches tower- 
ing over red-roofed cottages, and once more, if I may be forgiven for saying so, I 
blessed Heaven for my British birth.” 
This is a charming picture, and as true as it is charming. 
This reminds us to say that the volume is adorned with pictures, 
which, unlike those in Canon Ellacombe’s book, really illustrate 
the matter in hand. And here we leave these delightful books, 
which will carry on for us in their pages during the winter 
months the memory of the realities which we have enjoyed 
during the beautiful summer now past. 
SELBORNIANA. 
Floral Decoration of Railway Stations. — “ To encourage the cultiva- 
tion of flowers at the railway stations on the Midland Railway Company’s 
system, that company offered ;^^2oo in prizes among their station-masters, covering 
nearly two thousand miles of rail. There were upwards of two hundred entries 
for the competition, and the first prize was awarded by the judges to the station 
master at Matlock Bath. The prizes amount to ^^^50 more in value this year 
than in previous seasons.” — Pall Mall Gazette. 
Bird Protection in Paris. — “ The Prefecture of Police in Paris is deter- 
mined to protect wild birds which are useful to agriculturists. During last week 
no fewer than two hundred bird sellers were arrested, and heavily fined, while 
all the birds in their possession were impounded and set at liberty in the Bois de 
Vincennes. The result is that now most of the bird shops, which were to be 
abundantly found in the Notre Dame quarter of the city, are being closed, while 
shopkeepers in other districts find it practically impossible to carry on their trade 
on account of strict regulations imposed by the police. The time has arrived 
when similar steps should be taken by the Chief Commissioner in London.” — 
Echo, Avgust 29. 
A Bad Example.- — Three schoolbo3’s — friends of mine — caught forty 
swallowtail butterflies {P. Macliaon) in the Eastern Counties, on August 8, and 
twenty more on the 12th. We also saw several on the Norfolk Broads, which 
is rather unusual, I fancy, of late. Here in Kent we have caught several 
specimens of Colias Edusar at the end of September this year. 
Charles Terry. 
[We print this note (which was sent to our publishers at an address not theirs) 
as an example of the way in which our rare insects are being exterminated. No 
wonder swallowtails are “ rather unusual of late,” if every specimen is captured 
as soon as seen. We have never sided with those who would entirely prevent 
collecting, but even schoolboys should be taught that nothing can justify the 
taking sixty specimens of a rare insect or plant. We trust that all .Selbornians will 
use every effort to discourage such wanton destruction. — E d. N.N.I 
Destruction of Moles. — The enclosed cutting from The Daily News of 
October 14 is too significant to be overlooked. I commend to the careful 
attention of Selbornians this instance of the wisdom of modern scientific men. 
Their method appears to be first to destroy all the owls and hawks, until the 
country is over-run by mice and moles ; then to destroy moles (by the hateful 
means described below) until there follows a plague of wire-worms. Will they 
then inoculate wire-worms? It remains to be seen. There has been much talk 
about the danger of disturbing the balance of power in Europe. Surely common 
sense might have proved to us by this time the infinitely greater danger of dis- 
