Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-04-10
CRUELTY FOR FASHIONS
SAKE.


lady, whose request is cheerlully
complied with:
To the Editor OF The Baltimore News:
Will you, in the interest of hu
manity, give to the inclosed so much
space as will print it in full, and in
as conspicuous a place az possib e.!
The Wearing of Bgret Plumes.
Nothing for some time has been
more commonly seen than the deli
cate airy plumes which stand up
right in lalies' bonnets. These little
feathers were provided by nature as
the nuptial adornmen of the white
heron. Many kind-hearted wemer
who would not on any account do a
cruel act, yet are, by following this
fashion, causing the continuance Of
a very great cruelty. In speaking
Of the excuses of wearing these orna.
ments, w. II. IIudsoA, c: VI. 4. s,
author of The Naturalist in La
Plata. and part author of Argentine
Orni biology, says Ladies have re-
peatedIy assured me in all serious
ness thBt milliners make those fine
plumes out of the comm nest leath-
els" Z = The aigrette
worn by ladies in our day is in We Y
nearly all cases actually made Of
the slender decomposed feathers
that grow a. one time of the year on
the cgret's back and drop gracefully
over the sides and tail Of the bird
The less fine plumes, with shorter
and sitter flaments are from the
squacco heron, which is not an
egret.' Mr.. Hudson adds that
those who engage in the b siness Of
procuring these plumes know that
to obtain good supply with little
trouble the birds must he taken
when the breeding season is
we'll advanced. The best time
to attack them is when the young
birds are fully heigcd, bat not
yet able to fly; for at that time
the solicitude of the parent birds is
greatest, and forgetful of their OWN
danger, they are most readily made
victims. and he continues. when
the killing is finished the few hand
fuls Of coveted feathers have been
plucked out, the slaughtered birds
are lett in white heap to tester in
the sun and wind in the sight of the
orphaned young that cry for food
and are not fed. There Is nothing in
the whole earth so pitlablc as this
so pitiable and so shamelul-that
for such purpose human cunning
should take advantage OF that feel
ing and instinct VIII CHI we regard as
noble in our own species and as
something sacred-Ihs tender pass
ion Of the parent for its offspring,
which causes it to neglect its own
safety and to perish miserably a
sacrifice to its love. And
those who, not ignorant of the facts.
encourage such things for fashions
sake, and for the qualification of a
vanity, have a part in it,
and are perhaps more guilty than
the wretches who are paid to do the
rough work."
Continuing to SPEAK of thu time
when the birds wear these plumes.
this writer says: at is when in that
gayer dress that birds are most
for the purposes of fashion
and for other forms of decoration;
nor is tins all; it is then that they
are more easily found and taken
The shyest, most secretive kinds |
lose all their wild instincts in their !
)vcrmastering anxiety for the safety |
If eggs or young. And when the |
poor bird. uttering piercing cries. |
Ia sensitive frame quiyering. Its bill
crashing, as if the air could no
onger svstain itin its intense aglta.
ion, and huttering It's lovely wings
o make them more conscious, and |
~ such means draw the danger
way from its treasures and on to
tself-when it has been ruthlessly
hot for its feathers, its aedgelings
re left to starve in the nest. And
{ to the starved young we add all
he birds that fly away with pellets
f lead in their bodies, to languish
nd die of their wounds, it would
'e no exaggeratiOr to say that for
very plume worn in lady's hat 10
irds have suffered the death pang
In Our Animal Friends for Sep.
ember 1895, appeared an article by
A. Allen which gave a grabhic