Correspondence



271



then dropping with a plunge into the depths and quickly returning

to the air with a prize of a tiny fish. In the spring and autumn, if we

are lucky, we may see the pretty Black Tern as it pays a brief visit

to our lakes and broads where once its ancestors reared their broods.

Thanks to the protection afforded them nowadays we still have five

species of Terns which condescend to make their summer homes and

rear their families with us, and some of us have been fortunate enough

to see some at least of these. And surely those of us who have obtained

a partial knowledge of these lovely creatures wish to know more about

them, and we have every opportunity to do so now if we carefully read

Sea Terns and Sea Swallows. 1 Mr. and Mrs. George Marples have spent

years in the study of our British Terns, and I suppose no one knows

more about them than they do, and moreover they are skilled photo¬

graphers and have accumulated a wonderful collection of studies of these

birds, pictures which are unrivalled in excellence, though I suppose

few birds have been more photographed than the Terns, whose elegant

form invites the work of the artist. In this new book we have been

given the rare treat of learning much of the life habits of these lovely

creatures, for it is the best monograph on the group that has appeared,

and records many facts connected with their lives that were not known

before these two naturalists undertook their intensive studies.


D. S-S.



CORRESPONDENCE, NOTES, ETC.


A SUGGESTION


Unfortunately aviculturists cannot avoid death of their birds ; death

from disease can, to a certain extent, and should, be prevented, but not

death from old age. What becomes of the corpse ? Is it decently (or other¬

wise) interred in a quiet corner of the garden, or are the rites and ceremonies

of cremation duly and faithfully carried out ? Is there not another and

better way to dispose of the body ? Perhaps there is.


Have our members considered the preparation and mounting of the

skins, and the presentation of same to their local schools. It would not

take long for a decent little museum to be built up in many schools. What

a wonderful natural history and geography lesson this could become for

the children, but above all, think how this would inculcate in each tender

mind a love of the beautiful, and how this love could create a desire to own


1 Country Life Limited, 20 Tavistock Street, W.C. 2. 15s. net.



