THE QUEEN AND OSPREY PLUMES.
[To vas EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Now that the Queen has authorised the Duchess of Portland to say that "her Majesty never wears osprey feathers herself, and will certainly do all in her power to dis- courage the cruelty practised on these beautiful birds," will not Englishwomen believe that they must seriously take them out of their hats and bonnets and never buy them again ? Only last week, at a religious meeting of less than two hundred people, I counted thirteen aigrettes and one bird-of-paradise in the headgear of the audience. It seems incredible, after all that has been said and explained during the last ten years, that good, thoughtful women of all classes should continue to buy and wear an ornament which means the wanton starvation of the young broods and the gradual extinction of the beautiful birds. We are assured by Professor Ray Lankester that in every case when plumes stated to be merely imitation have been examined, they have been found to be, not artificial, but real. May we appeal to all who read this to co-operate with the Queen in putting an end to this utterly indefensible practice F—I am, Sir, &c.,
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