HEW ZEALAND BIRDS

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVIII, Issue 70, 24 March 1914, Page 6

HEW ZEALAND BIRDS

A MOVEMENT TO ENSURE

PROTECTION",

'It is riot the disposition of everybody io find toiigues in trees, books in running brooks, and sermons in Clones. Fortunately, however-, it is "the disposition of a, few in every community, and it is a.n attitude of mind •most deserving of the widest en■couragement, especially in the young jfeople of to-day. Nature-situdy is not'achieving' its full purpose if it does not a .real love of xtftture and the deepest respect for it. All whose sentiments towards nature aare of an enlightened kind will regard with interest , a movement now lauinehea in the Dominion < in the formation of, a Nevr Zealand Forest said Bird Protection Society, comjpients the Otago,Daily Times. The 'Objects of this society, the organising secretary of which is Mr H. G. Ell, 3J1.P., must commend themselves cordially to all -who recognise the importance of practical and organised effort animated by the purpose of sGculring the conservation of what we

ittay call wild nature, and affording ifc protection against vandalism in its various shapes and guises. In the matter ■of flora and fauna New Zea<Jaxxd has been so peculiarly favored that these afford an absorbing field For study. The native forests and native bird life of the Dominion when battlement first established itself on these1 shores was possessed Of a charm and interest which now survive under much more difficult circumstances. On what remains- New Zeklanders" fehould be intelligent enough to place the highest value, as on a delightful and irreplacaible national asset. The native forests ol the Dominion have suffered sad havoc—in some respects, necessarily so—from the axe of the, settler and the ravages of the sawmill. The remat vkable native bird life of which th.a ear lie rs writers have said so much has suffered severely. Ruthless sportsmen have slaughtered it'wilhd'it compunction, and', driven back to remote districts, Avhere, natural conditions # still remain almost unaltered, it survives as best it can the attacks of such enemies as a .mistaken view of. the consequence lias ■caused fco 'bo imported into the <sauntry. • Tliore i& not the slightest doubt that there is plenty of work for the New Zealand Forest and Bird Protection Society to undertake. It has been called into existence as its tjtle indicates, for the purpose of protecting and preserving the native wild birds and che existing, reserves which have ben" .^et aside in order to preserve areas of native vegetation, anil of securing out of the remaining forest lands re-serves in districts which, these do not. already exist. This furnishes another- argument to add to many-: which prove- the folly' •of indiscriminat& denudation of. forest land. It is suggested that the public teir.g: interested iv the protection anj preservation^ of our flora and fauna, needs , .some J. through -'which it may, give expression to its j views. WTiat we do l*cpe is thHt.this, new Society will awaktn the public to a: keener realisation of the value and character of a national heritage in' the conservation of which it has not hitherto shown ; the cone'errr that; might have .b.een expected..of it. .Tt is to be trusted, therefore, that the Society will secure beyond anticipations'support such .ste it deserves. The .personnel of its Council suggests that it will he,-admirably representaiave of that seofcion of the community to which the public may well look for guidance in such matters as the conservation of niatiye forests and birdlife. It is a. pity that children have so generally to be classed as the

natural enemies of the birds. Only by perseverance on educational lines can it be expected that this unfortunate instinct of theirs will be checked. A great many people will have found considerable satisfaction in reading of the favorable reception accorded in the-, House of Commons to the me asu re tha,t is designed to prevent, as far as English legislation can, th© extermination of tropical .plumagtj birds. But education should be able in this country to achieve more than legislation in the preservation of the native bird-life.

MR. SIMPSON'S EVIDENCE. Mr HENRY SIMPSON,- of Castlecliff, Wanganui, says:—" Hean's )iEssence makes a big bottle of the best cough and sore throat mixture we have had in our house, and the way it saves money is astonishing." Mr. Simpson's report is the report of all'who make their own family cough mixture by using Hean's Essence. The mixture so easily. made in your own home promptly relieves old or new coughs, and is equally good for croup, bronchitis, whooping cough, or asthma. Sold by most chemists and stores, or postfree on receipt of price, 2/-, from GvW. Hean, Chemist, Wanganui, 22