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Correspondence



to assist in this. It is very rarely that one sees a class in any show reserved

for cage or aviary bred birds, yet this is the department of foreign bird keeping

that must be developed if we are to retain anything at all of our hobby. Let

vis start now before it is too late.


J. E. Haine.



The following extract from a letter received from Miss Maxwell Jackson

is published with her consent.— Ed.


Referring to the Parrot Ban it seems nothing short of tragedy that bird

lovers and aviculturists here should not be able to keep these most beautiful

birds because owing to insanitary importations they are diseased.


I heard of some inexpensive rough land in Bedfordshire the other day

and wondered if I had bought some of it and allowed the free use of it as

a quarantine station for aviculturists, whether, by all societies joining forces,

it could have been arranged. A bungalow and someone in charge and parrot¬

like birds to be brought straight there by aeroplane and not allowed to leave

unless perfectly healthy.


Another idea would be to have some such place outside the chief exporting

town, say in Australia, the birds brought and someone in charge who would

see all were healthy and hand them over to a thoroughly responsible person

and see they had every comfort on the journey. If it could be made to pay

expenses, perhaps we might have something of the kind in India and other

places.


I hope if any of the above suggestions are possible no prohibitive prices

would be charged; only sufficient to pay the expenses of each bird sold.

Aviculturists could charge anything after purchase, but this should be only

a national health insurance against psittacosis.


If such a scheme is ever started and funds wanted to run it on a lasting and

practical basis, I should be very glad to contribute £50. It possibly would not

go far but there are so many eager to help and one would be so thankful if

the troubles that beset us could be even partly cleared away.


Muriel Maxwell Jackson.



