TOUCH WITH NATURE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15858, 2 September 1913, Page 8

TOUCH WITH NATURE.

NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY IN - NEW ZEALAND.

(By J. Dbummond, F.L.S., F.Z.S.)

Fifty or sixty years ago New Zealand attracted many collectors and naturalists, and, as bird life was very plentiful in those days, they found little difficulty in obtaining specimens, large numbers of which were sent t-o institutions in other countries. For this Teason the dominion is very well represented in Old World museums, where colonial visitors, sometimes, are surprised to Bee specimens that stand for hew Zealand in different branches of scientific study. Writing from Rouen, France, on June 1, Mka Blanche Turton describes the .pleasure she experienced wlien she saw specimens of native birds at Caen. "They had been badly set, up," she writes. " 1 notice this in regard to New Zealand birds, especially the weka and the tui, almost everywhere—and some were very faded, but the majority 'were in good preservation, There are two kakapos (beauties), two keas, one kaka, two brown kiwis, one grey kiwi, a very fine morepork owl, a. long-tailed cuckoo, two harrier hawks, a bellbird, a kingfisher, white eyee, one yellow-head, a tui, a pied fantail, two splendid parrakeets' (the red-fronted and the yellow-fronted), two South Island crows (unfortunately th 3 yellow wattles have bleached quite whitei), also wekas, dotterels, swamp hens, a pied stilt, ail. oyster-catcher, and-many ducks. In the adjoining room we found, to our surprise, moa remains without end. There were bones, gizzard stones,, and large pieces of egg-shells. In the same room there is a splendid collection of Maori curios—every museum hero seems to possets what should have been , kept in the country. There are rows of magnificently carved tikis, large . meres, two very fine small carved boxes, .paddles, pieces of canoes, long greenstone ear ornaments (pne is seven inches and- a-quarter), many spear heads, flints of all shapes and sizes, several mat's, including a large one taken from a Hau-hau chief by Major Maii, and the carved front of a house. - The collectors were Peschard and D'Urville."

Describing the Natural History Museum at Rouen Miss Turton says " All specimens are mounted in their natural surroundings, and space, time, and money are not considered, The effect is similar to that in the Natural History Museum in London. In the general collection there is a kakapo, a iNorth Island kiwi and a South Island kiwi, with a model of their eggs, two red-fronted parrakeets, and a few other New Zealand birds. There are no fewer than seven cases of i Maori mats, a beautiful prow, and a piece of the aide of a war-canoe. The latter were presented by Admiral .Ceeille. That officer's name is associated with the history of the Chatham Islands. About 70 years ago the Maoris, who conquered the Morioris on the islands, captured a French whaler named the Jean Bart, and burnt the vessel and massacred the. crew. An American' whaler, the Rebecca Simms, which visited' the islands shortly afterwards, reported the affair at the Bay of Islands. The French corvette L'Herome was in the bay at the time, and it. immediately set out, with Cecilie m •charge,-to avenge the outrage, which it did by destroying the Natives' pas, burning canoes, and killing many of the people. ■ It appears that Admiral Cecilie took the chief ' Eitouna' and two other Native prisoners, but when he ordered the cinoes to be burnt he, seeing how beautiful the carving was, had the prow and one side detached, and gave them to the Rouen Museum in 1839. There is also the wicked-looking hatchet of this chief, and his mantle. I do not know what name the French call 'Eitouna,' but no doubt you' will know it. In every museum we have seen up to the present time there are Maori heads. • The ekin is wonderfully well preserved—it looks like parchment— and is a' mass of tattooing. In this museum there are too' exceptionally good heads. But the mats are countless, and all of them have been skilfully woven."

In thfc Wen Museum Miss 'Turton saw a strange Chinese whistle. It is small, and is made of . bamboo and specially varnished, in order that it may be protected from the rain. The Chinese tie whistles of this pattern to the backs of carrier pigeons. As the birds fly rapidly through the- air, the whistles sound continuously, and birds of prey are kept off. The sound, :t is stated, is an appalling loud screech, and is quite sufficient to frighten any enemies the pigeons may ittract. Coming back to Europe, Miss "Turton 6ays:—"We find that- people with houses on the banks of the Seine very muoh dislike the swallows. The birds aTe in such large numbers and build £0 many nests in.the chimney pot 6 and sides that the smoke is alwayß wrong, in addition to which the young often tumble down the chimney. I have never seen so many swallows, they are in' ' hundreds, and by noise find good hunting over the river. The cuckoo calls most of the day. ■ Books and crows have their nests built and quarrel all day long. We saw a hoopoe flying to-day, it looked smaller on the'wing."

' In Miss Turton's letter there was a slip dealiag with' the destruction of birds for commercial purposes, and demonstrating by baie figures alone the slaughter which takes place in order to meet the tastes of vain women. At the three London feather sales in February, June, and October no fewer than 223,490 " bird corpses" passed .into commercial hainds. That' total included 129,168 egrets, or, as New Zealanders call them, white herons. There were 15,598 ordinary herons, 20,698 birds of paradise, 41,090 humming birds, 9464 eagles and condors, and 9472 other birds. Plumes of the egret and heirons range from £5 17s sd. to £11 5s an punce. The light plumes of the greater bird • of paradise range from 8s 6d to £4 17s. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds apparently is fighting a., vigorous campaign in the British Isles.' Queen Alexandra ha 6 written to the secretary, stating that she "never wears any egret plumes .herself, and will certainly do -all in her power to discourage the cruelty practised on these beautiful birds." Queen Mary also, has expressed her sympathy with the movement to protect the birds, and as royalty has great power in this direction it is expected that the women of the nation, if not of the world, will soon be convinced that live birds in natural surroundings are more beautiful tham dyed plumes m hats, even when the hats adorn fair heads. " The blame does not rest solely with the women," Miss Turton comments in an apology for her sex, "bceatisc if the men refused ,to go long journeys and to risk dangers for the .feathers it would soon settle matters.'' Men will continue to go long journeys and face dangers as long as they are paid. for doing 60, and dealers will ooiitinue to pay them as long as milliners demand feathers, and milliners will continue to demand feathers as long as women continue to wear them. Women, therefore, control the position, and it will be. more graceful for them to refuEe to wear feathers than to be compelled by law.