THE ANNUAL CONVERSAZIONE 
105 
the authorities were satisfied of the cruelty involved. Unfortu- 
nately, ladies continue to wear them. I do not say that ladies 
are less humane than soldiers, because they do not, I think, 
realize the cruelty. It does not, however, the less exist. 
“ The destruction of the so-called Egrets and other beautiful 
birds unfortunately continues and, indeed, increases. During 
the last six months of last year, at the plume auctions held in 
London, there were catalogued no less than 19,712 Birds of Para- 
dise, and 1,411 packages of the nesting plumes of the White 
Heron, representing nearly 115,000 birds. At the June sale 
1,380 Crowned Pigeons’ heads were sold, and one firm alone 
sold 20,000 Kingfishers. If this goes on for only a few years 
more, some of the most beautiful birds in the world will be prac- 
tically exterminated. 
“ A few weeks ago I was urged by some of those who were 
most interested in the subject to invite the Societies concerned — 
the Zoological, the Linnean, the Society for the Protection of 
Birds, and of course, our own Society — to appoint delegates to 
consider the subject. They were good enough to do so ; we had 
a conference on the subject, and a Bill, mainly on lines suggested 
by Mr. Buckland, has been agreed on. It has been approved by 
most of the societies, and I have every reason to iiope that it will 
also be supported by the Zoological Society. It is hoped that it 
will be introduced into the House of Lords forthwith, and we 
hope you will endeavour to induce any of your friends in either 
House to give it their support.” 
As Sir Harry Johnston was unfortunately prevented from 
coming to town through illness. Lord Avebury called upon Mr. 
E. Nash, a Member of Council, to read his address, as 
follows : — 
The Preservation of Beauty in English Scenery. 
The other day I took the walk of a convalescent in the first 
glory of the spring, in a corner of one of the most beautiful 
southern counties of England, a county which, from the point of 
view of scenery and historical associations, stands in the first 
rank amongst such of the divisions of England as are famed for 
their landscapes and the buildings of their towms and villages. 
My hour’s stroll was to lead me through a wood famous for 
wild life and displays of spring flowers, and, after crossing a 
piece of common remarkable for its almost arborescent gorse 
and its birch copse, was to return through a group of farm build- 
ings celebrated amongst those who are fond of red-tiled roofs 
covered with golden lichen and of flint-walled, thatched-roofed 
cottages. 
In the wood we found nailed up against tree trunks by a 
zealous keeper, owls, stoats, magpies, and a sparrow-hawk (the 
same keeper, by the by, seems to be indifferent to the destruction 
