76 ROOK. 



cherries, plums, apples, and pears. It is very fond of walnuts, 

 and when its mind is set that way will soon clear the trees if not 

 prevented. Nothing, however, will save the walnuts, or potatoes 

 if once set upon — for the Rook is most determined in his 

 perseverance — but the sacrifice of a victim or two at the very 

 early dawn of day, and this will require much cunning for 



Their dangers well the wary plunderers know, 

 And place a Avatch on some conspicuous bough. 



In hard, frosty weather, which is often felt very severely by 

 Rooks, they will eat turnips, but never when they can get the 

 animal food, which is so much more to their taste. 



Rooks have been accused of injuring pastures, but if they 

 pluck up the grass, it is only to get at the worms, slugs, and 

 cockchafer-caterpillars concealed by it. These they seem to detect 

 intuitively, and thus instead of doing injury to grass land, they do 

 real service there by destroying millions of these grubs. 



Considering therefore that the attacks of Rooks upon potatoes, 

 fruit and vegetables, are only exceptional, the main charge against 

 them is that of eating the spring-sown corn and the ripe corn, and 

 the verdict on these counts must unhesitatingly be " guilty ! " Yet 

 how light and trifling is this injury, as compared with the very great 

 benefit derived from them by their wholesale destruction of grubs, 

 caterpillars and wireworms, all through the year. 



Jesse, the naturalist, has well observed, that if ploughing and 

 sowing are going on together in the same field, the rooks will 

 follow the ploughman and not the sower ; and the truth of the 

 observation may be confirmed every spring. 



The Rooks, however, will take very freely the new sown and 

 the ripe corn, so the fields at these times must be watched, and if 

 one or two are shot, for two or three days in succession, and duly 

 gibbeted, the rest will soon take themselves off to safer hunting 

 grounds. We may well, as the old poet says, pardon the Rooks if 

 we should censure the Pigeons. 



Dat veniam corvis, vexat censura columbas. 



