More Egrets
The second piece of good news comes from a naturalist who has just returned to South 4merica. He tells me: " A species now gaining ground rapidly is the small egret, or Mirasol. The breeding plumage at one time was worth 6,000 Argentine dollars or £380 sterling the kilogram. Today they are not worth the ammunition spent on shooting them. The little-kpown large egrets also are plentiful. Their plumage was worth about half that of the smaller bird." This undoubtedly carries the inference that at long last women have been persuaded to refuse to wear egret plumes (which are produced only in the breeding season) as a milliner's ornament. Our humanitarian societies, the R.S.P.B., which have been hammering at the subject for years, deserve full credit for their successful persistence. This naturalist, who has been interested in game-preservation all his life, -rejoiced to find' on his return to Paraguay that the nutria, much sought after for its fur, was still common. The market of course is the great enemy of preser- vation. The one animal in Paraguay that seems to be in danger of extinction is the water-hog, largest of all the rodents, for the reason that there is an increasing demand for the leather made from its hide.
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