Lord Tavistock—The Tyranny of 44 The Trade ”



13



scared stiff of them ! There is no packet Parrot Food on the market

known to me (or, I should imagine to anyone else), which is suitable

to form the staple diet of any species of parrot—but it is almost as

much as one’s life is worth to say so !


If a certain food or food ingredient is of special value for certain

birds—as Dr. Allinson’s Food is of special value for Lories—the day

is long past when, for the assistance of newcomers to aviculture, you

were permitted to mention it in the weekly bird papers by name.

It has got to be referred to as 44 a certain proprietary food ” lest rival

firms selling, possibly, an inferior or unsuitable product, should get

jealous ! And should one ever be bold enough, even in the most

temperate and helpful way, to criticize the honesty or humanity of

any section of the dealers’ fraternity what a hornets’ nest is speedily

about one’s ears !


I remember once seeing in a London dealer’s window examples of

gross cruelty in the mismanagement and overcrowding of fish. When

I called attention to this in the Fancy Press a firm other than the

actual offender descended upon me with such wrathful protestations

of injured innocence that I was left with little doubt that my cap must

fit more heads than I realized !


On another occasion I was rash enough to be partly responsible

for the publication of the statement that 44 the maxim that honesty is

the best policy is no more universally realized in the bird trade, than

in other branches of livestock dealing ”. Once more a clear (?) con¬

science seemed surprisingly inadequate to protect the tender feelings

of the innocent from wounds that the qualifying word 44 universally ”

should surely have spared them. More vigorous protests. Unfortunately,

however, the memories of some of the protesters were shorter than mine

and I had occasion to refresh them by recalling certain incidents that

I, at any rate, had not forgotten !


There is quite enough Fascism in the world without its taint being

extended to aviculture. There are honest dealers in the trade and

there are dishonest ones ; there is good stuff being offered for the use

of birds and there is plenty of rubbish. Let the good men and good

articles prevail by fair and free advertisement of their merits, and let

the bad suffer the exposure they deserve.



