8o 
NATURE NOTES. 
offer eggs of the golden eagle at 25s., and osprey at 4s. The statement going 
abroad that £12 is given for single eggs of those birds is likely to produce a whole 
army of half-starved villagers, and so help the destruction our Society tries to 
prevent. If the owners of shootings could be induced to follow the example of the 
Duke of Sutherland, and order their keepers not to disturb the breeding places of 
the larger Raptorial birds, is the true remedy. Perhaps some of our members can 
bring influence to bear to that end. 
Thomas Simpson. 
[Dr. Clark’s statement was obviously intended to apply only to guaranteed 
British examples of the eggs in question, which— as every collector knows — have 
a far higher value than specimens obtained from abroad, which are readily pro- 
curable from a dealer. The high prices mentioned by Dr. Clark have long been 
well known to ornithologists. Mr. Robert Gray, in his “Birds of the West of 
Scotland” (1871) drew “ attention to a fact communicated by Mr. John Batson 
to the Times about a year ago — namely, that printed lists are actually in circula- 
tion among keepers and shepherds [in Sutherlandshire], offering large prices for 
the eggs of birds of prey Nothing but the strongest censure can be 
meted out to such collectors as would bribe a man in humble circumstances to 
procure eggs of the golden or white-tailed eagles, kite, or osprey, at the price of 
ten pounds for each specimen ” (p. 10). — Eds.] 
Miss Mitford’s “ Spicer.” — Mrs. Haweis writes from Queen’s House, 
Cheyne Walk, S.W., as follows “ I am so much interested by the identification 
of Miss Mitford’s Spicer (the Saponaria officinalis ) that I write to say how grateful 
I should be if any correspondent of Nature Notes would send me a batch of roots 
that I may experiment with. 1 shall not shrink before so pretty a ‘ pest,’ and, 
if any charitable stranger will so afflict me, I will gladly bear any expense he is 
put to.” 
Animal and Plant Names. — We have received lists and communications 
from the following contributors : — N. S. W. ; E. F. P. ; R. W. ; G. S. D. ; 
E. C. D. ; G. C. G. ; A. J. H. : T. R. A. ; B. E. H. ; E. H. Of these we 
hope to make use in an early number. 
OFFICIAL NOTICES, &c. 
The Annual General Meeting of the Society is an event of such importance 
that we have placed an account of it as the first article for this month. Several 
matters arising from it will be dealt with in the next number of Nature Notes. 
The question of printing the names of new members of the Selborne Society 
in each number of the Magazine has been raised by several correspondents ; but 
the number of new members is so large, and the space at our disposal so very 
inadequate to the demands upon it, that we are quite unable to do so at present. 
At the next meeting of Council the advisability of printing in pamphlet form a 
fresh list of all the members will be considered. This would, of course, obviate 
the necessity of printing the names in the Magazine. 
We have received several numbers of the Selborne Magazine, and some 
valuable suggestions, from Mr. Albert Keene, of Hammersmith, who has 
done much good work for the Society there. The Magazines 'have been dis- 
tributed, and the suggestions shall be carefully borne in mind. We are also 
indebted for Magazines to Miss S. P. Dawes, of Ditchling Hassocks, who is most 
helpful in sending cuttings, See. 
Several members express their readiness to give is. or more yearly to the 
Magazine fund. Those intending to do so will please remember that we do not 
want the money to be sent now, only the names of those upon whom we might 
depend in case the idea of enlargement were to be carried into practice. It is par- 
ticularly requested that subscriptions, and letters bearing on the general business 
of the Society, should not be forwarded to the Editors. Editorial communications 
should be addressed to the Rev. Percy Myles, i, Argyle Road, Ealing, W. 
