Society for the Protection of Birds.-—No. 27. 1st to 10 th thousand . 
ARTIFICIAL PLUMES. 
The following is a letter from Sir William H. Flower,, 
K.C.B ., D.Sc., D.C.L., LL D ., Director of the British 
Natural History Museum, which appeared in the Times 
on June 25tli, 1896 :—- 
“ Sir, —You have upon several occasions given some of yOur 
valuable space to letters upon the cruelty involved in the fashion of 
wearing feathers in ladies’ hats. Especially has it been pointed out 
that the lovely, delicate plumes of the small white herons or egrets 
can only be procured by the destruction of the birds during the 
season in which they have their nests and young, as then only are 
these feathers developed. In the trade for some unkuown reason, 
they are called “ osprey,” though the real bird of that name, a kind 
of fishing hawk, produces no ornamental plumes. Notwithstanding 
all that has been said, the garden-party season now beginning shows 
that the fashion is as prevalent as ever. I have recently noticed many 
of the gentlest and most kind-hearted among my lady friends, 
including some who are members of the Society for the Protection of 
Birds, and who, I am sure, would never knowingly do any injury to 
living creatures, adorned with these very plumes. Why is this ? 
Simply because, in order to keep up their trade and dispose of their 
stock, the purveyors of female raiment, to salve the consciences of 
their customers, have invented and widely propagated a monstrous 
fiction, and are everywhere selling the real feathers warranted as 
artificial! Within the last few days I have examined numbers of 
plumes, the wearers of which were priding themselves on their 
humanity, relying upon the assurance of the milliner that they were 
not real egret’s feathers, but manufactured. In every case it did not 
take a very close scrutiny to ascertain that they were unquestionably 
genuine. The only “ manufacture” consisted in cutting the plume in 
two, and fixing the upper and lower half side by side, so that a single 
feather does duty for two in the ‘ brush.’ Thus one of the most 
beautiful of birds is being swept off the face of the earth, under 
circumstances of peculiar cruelty, to minister to a passing fashion, 
bolstered up by a glaring falsehood. 
“ I beg to remain very faithfully yours, 
“W! II. FLOWER. 
“ Natural History Museum, London, 
“ June 23rd.” 
