EGRET FEATHERS.
[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR...1 Si,—Your correspondent Mr. A. J. N. Barker (Spectator, September 26th) is perfectly correct in his statement that the majority of egret plumes exported from Nigeria are feathers collected from the ground. However incredible it may appear to the Society for the Protection of Birds or to the eminent gentlemen mentioned by the secretary, it is never- theless a fact. The natives from whom the plumes are obtained do not shoot the egret. If the Society will refer to the Ordinance in force—and enforced—respecting arms and ammunition, they will find no occasion for surprise, as the only firearm the native is allowed to use is the usual "five feet of gas-pipe" with flintlock, common to West African trade.
I can confirm from some years of experience in Nigeria, and from personal observation—not as a plume-hunter or one trading in the article—that it is possible to find these plumes, and that they are found in paying quantities on the breeding- grounds, and I see no reason why it should be inconceivable or impossible that they should be found in a similar manner in other parts of the world, as they no doubt are.—I am, Sir,
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