BIRDS AND CAMPERS.
It is not only, perhaps not chiefly in England, that the people grow careful about the preservation of their country's beauty. New Zealand, especially, has shown much foresight. Her Scenery Preservation Act is worth imitation ; and in the year very considerable additions to the reserves have been ordained by the Department of Land and Survey. Birds as well as landscape are threatened. One rare heron has been almost exterminated owing to the passionate belief of fisher. men in the killing quality of its feathers when attached to a hook ! It is therefore of good omen that in some of the latest regulations scenic reserves and bird sanctuaries are com- bined together. New Zealand has more or less solved a difficulty that continues to worry those who are urging the creation of national parks in England. Can a popular camping ground—an amenity that is much desired—be made consistent with a nature reserve ? The interests of the two are not after all so contrary as it may be thought. Even at Whipsnade, crowded each week by visitors, the little sanctuary alongside the chief gate attracts a very fair number of rare and shy birds. On a larger scale a camping ground need not interfere in the least with a sanctuary in its hinterland.
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