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tyro myself, but I would venture to suggest that it is the duty of the

Avicultural Society to institute some sort of stock book, so that any

breeder may discover if his birds are really unrelated or not. This need

not be an expensive innovation. Only one or two copies need be kept,

and from these suitable pairing, etc., could be arranged by some

central authority appointed by the Council. A satisfactory system of

ringing and registration could easily be evolved by those aviculturists

(and there must be some) who are skilled in such matters. Only

co-operation among the eminent aviculturists who breed these rare

birds would be needed. Every single specimen of those species alive

in this country would have to be ringed and registered. Zoos and

exhibition collections could co-operate by using for purely exhibition

purposes only those birds which were sterile or unfit for breeding.

Persons who co-operated in the scheme would have the satisfaction of

knowing that they were doing a really useful and valuable work. I feel

sure that some such scheme as I have outlined above is the only method

by which stocks of rare and extinct birds may be preserved for the

future. A. Morrison.



GAPES AND ITS TREATMENT


Mr. W. H. Workman in the April number of the Magazine gave us

advice about curing gapes in birds. I am most grateful to him, as I have

successfully treated six Starlings, among them Rothschild’s, Crowned,

and Spreo. In each case the cure has been complete, and I am sure

most aviculturists will be more than grateful to Mr. Workman. For

several years I have had this trouble with my Starlings. They first

started by sneezing and coughing now and again, and then gradually

got worse, and died very often after two to three months—no matter

what I did to them they never recovered. I tried giving them all sorts

of different stuffs in their food and water, and I have even painted their

throats with iodine, but all to no purpose. I write this to help others

who may have the same trouble with their starlings. I may mention

that so far only Starlings have had this complaint—“ Kuride ” can be

obtained from the Kur-os Manufacturing Co., Church Street, Ballymena,

Ireland. A. Ezra.



