242 NOTES ON THE ROOK. j Jj 



of poison to be discovered, but like many, too many of our brave fellows in 

 tlie Crimea, unless rumour has in this instance maintained the character she 

 of old acquired — and let us hope, for the sake of humanity, that she, in 

 some measure at least, may have done so — they had been rendered, by the 

 Avant of sufficient nourishment, incapable of battling with the cold, and 

 accordingly had, between the two, been compelled to succumb, — their crops 

 containing scarcely a particle of food of any kind. 



It may be remarked, that the ground had been covered with snow since 

 the 18th ult., and on the 28th, a self-registering thermometer, which was 

 placed in an exposed situation near the ground, within a few yards of the 

 rookery, shewed that the temperature had, during the previous night, been 

 as low as 11° Fahrenheit, being 21° below the freezing-point. On the 1st 

 and 2nd inst., it was found to have been 17° below freezing. On the 8rd, a 

 partial thaw took place, which had the effect of clearing the ground of snow 

 to some extent, Avhen the mortality among the Rooks ceased for a short 

 time. On the 8th and 9th, more snow fell, and on the morning of the latter 

 day, four more Rooks were found to have perished. On the 10th, the ther- 

 mometer had marked 8°, and the lives of fifteen more Rooks- were sacrificed, 

 and their dead bodies picked up under the trees. One individual was found 

 with its head under its wing, as though death had overtaken it in its sleep ; 

 it would also appear to have become rigid and stiff, probably frozen, before 

 it fell from its perch : several more wei'e observed to leave their roosting 

 place in the morning in a deplorably weak, and well nigh famished condition ; 

 when, in order to mitigate their sufferings, and arrest, as far as possible, the 

 progress of that dreadful mortality which threatened to decimate their num- 

 bers, my brother commenced strewing food for them in an adjoining field; 

 they fought shy, he tells me, of this preferred kindness at first, appearing 

 strongly to suspect that some foul play was intended ; at length, however, 

 the horrors of famine prevailed over their other fears, which they have now 

 given to the winds ; and day by day may be seen discussing, with the greatest 

 composure, and an equal degree of relish, their morning or evening meal. 



I am happy in being able to record that my brother attained the object 

 he had in view in providing them with food ; for although a few more victims 

 were afterwards discovered, they were evidently such as had become so much 

 exhausted previously as to be past recovery. The only thing to be regretted 

 is, that, as an agriculturist, and therefore having a particular — by which may be 

 understood a pecuniary — as well as a general interest in the well-being of the 

 Rook, he had not had recourse to this expedient sooner, as a still greater 

 number of valuable lives might then have been saved. He had, from the 

 commencement of the severe weather, provided for the wants of the smaller 

 birds, but had not dreamt that the Rooks would have required assistance at 

 so early a period of the frost ; their having been reduced to the starvation 

 point, in so short a time after the appearance of rigorous weather, is a most 



