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upon, that all possible estates should be scheduled, and vendors’ prices obtained 
for them. Then the maximum cost can be seen beforehand, and there will be no 
fear of inflated values being placed by greedy speculators upon any land that may 
hereafter be desired 
“ It is well known that the owners of the Marble Hill estate have undertaken 
not to proceed with building operations until the new year, receiving as compensa- 
tion the sum of ^3,500, and before December 31 the ;^70,ooo has got to be raised 
for the completion of the purchase. But it will be of very little avail to purchase 
the one estate if all our efforts are afterwards to be frustrated by the prosecution 
of building operations all around that estate. The whole question is being dealt 
with by a committee, composed of delegates from the London County Council, 
the Surrey County Council, and other rural and urban councils, of the Commons 
Preservation Society, the Selborne, Kyrle, and other similar societies, the 
National Trust, &c. Sir Edward J. Poynter, P.R.A., Sir W. Richmond, R. A., 
Lord Monkswell, Lord Farrer, Lord Meath, Sir Robert Hunter, the Rt. Hon. 
G. J. Shaw Lefevre, Mr. Dickinson, and others whose names are constantly 
before the public in such matters are on the Committee, and are keenly interested 
in the movement. Poets and artists have rendered the view of the meandering 
Thames and its wooded vales famous in their works. It now remains to see 
whether public spirit wilt be strong and liberal enough to prevent its desecration.” 
The Widening of Piccadilly. — Mr. Martin also sends 
the following letter : — 
“ As a result of a widespread expression of opinion, we are promised that 
when the widening of Piccadilly shall take place, eleven of the trees which skirt 
the Green Park will be spared, while others will be transplanted. Leaving 
out the question of transplanting, which is just what is not required, since removal 
in any shape or form is undesirable, it seems that out of some fifty-five fair sized 
trees only one-fifth will remain. May I be allowed to repeat my suggestion 
made at the Annual Meeting in May, namely, that if the railings are removed so 
as to stand farther back in the Park, the smaller trees may, for the most part, 
remain where they are, and skirt the edge of the new pavement. The increased 
width of Piccadilly, near the bottom of Down Street, will then require more 
refuge accommodation, and the five or six large plane-trees (as well as the porter’s 
rest), which are now on the edge of the pavement, might well remain down the 
centre of a refuge, about 100 feet long, and would give a welcome shade and 
shelter in hot or rainy weather. It is certainly to be hoped that something 
more in accordance with public wishes will be done to preserve a large proportion 
of the trees.” 
Wild Birds Protection Acts. — Mr. Joseph Collinson 
writes : — 
“Is it not time that some endeavour should be made to bring these Acts up 
to date ? Some of them have been in operation for several years, yet the destruc- 
tion of rare and beautiful birds for ‘specimens’ is almost as rife as ever. The 
latest list of victims taken by the British bird-hunter includes the spoonbill, 
stork, honey buzzard, Montagu’s harrier, two glossy ibis, and innumerable wax- 
wings, hoopoes, and bitterns, not to mention several birds which, though not so 
rare, are rapidly becoming scarcer year by year. It is idle to appeal to the 
humane sentiment of the bird vandals: the collecting of British-killed ‘speci- 
mens ’ is their special calling, and they study the Bird Protection Acts solely 
with a view to escape detection and punishment. So far as the birds I have 
named are concerned, the existing law is nothing more than a ridiculous farce, as 
they can be shot down with impunity, almost in every part of the country, by any 
reprobate with a gun. Owing to the omission of many migratory species, the 
casual visitor, and so forth, from the Statutory Rules and Orders, and the 
incompetent and slovenly way in which the laws are carried out by the adminis- 
trative bodies, these Acts are only effective in those cases where they are least 
needed. Professor Howes, in a recent speech, expressed his opinion that ‘ the 
present unsatisfactory state of affairs is largely due to the apathy of the local 
