'240 PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY. 



ment, education, and rank, must modify the vivacity of the 

 individual. Wilson, the Scotch ornithologist of America, was 

 grave and distant and discontented ; yet he was a true lover of 

 nature ; — Bufl'on, vain and affable, and self-satisfied ; and he 

 too was a distinguished naturalist ; — Linna3us, hasty, vindic- 

 tive, and egregiously conceited ; and yet his merits were such, 

 that all the outcries of his numerous detractors will never 

 drown the clear bold notes of praise that have been raised to 

 him by those who could best estimate his faculties. 



It is indeed difficult to judge of character, and impossible to 

 determine motives, unless in certain cases, where there are 

 manifest indications. But there goes a Magpie : run, and have 

 a shot at him. 



It is needless to pursue : a magpie chase is generally as 

 fruitless as a wild-goose one. It is a cunning bird, sly, and 

 sagacious ; a wag too, if we may judge by its tail ; a genuine 

 chatterer, though not a Bohemian. Here is a flight of small 

 birds drifting over the trees. Ah, there — a Sparrow -Hawk. 



You have hit. Down he comes whirling through the air. 

 He has got on his back, the fierce little fellow ! How he 

 clutches the cane, and screams. Shall I kill him ? 



Do : — ^lie is doomed, and it is well to terminate his woes at 

 once. Hit him on the back of the head. By the by, there 

 are several ways of killing a wounded bird. One is to take it 

 by the body and knock its head against the gun, which is not 

 always effectual, for I have seen birds so stunned revive a long 

 time after. Another is to press the ribs against the heart with 

 ^-^our finger and thumb, and this is an excellent method. But 

 the best of all, because the quickest and surest, is to thrust a 

 pin between the occipital bone and first cervical vertebra, and 

 cut the spinal cord, which extinguishes life in an instant. 



It is a barbarous business this practical ornithology of yours, 

 and one not well adapted for benevolent persons. 



Say not so ; a surgeon is not necessarily a savage. Ladies 

 indeed cannot become practical ornithologists, although they 

 make no scruple in spitting insects ; nor, I believe Quakers, 

 who, although they will not kill cows, yet eat beef. I cannot 

 account for these inconsistencies. Botany is the best study for 



