24 



JOUUXAI. Ol- THK Wll.n BIRD IN'VESTIGATIOX SOCIETY. 



injuriciiis to the trees; in others we found <•'. 

 few slugs. 



From the standpoint of the. farmer tliis bird 

 is, in mv < pinion, distinctly beneficial. The 

 benefits it confers more than compensates fc;r 

 the injury it does to the egcrs of game birds, 

 and I shall certainly make every endea\'0ur 

 to ensure its preservation in the future. 



The ?ilagpie is a singularly handsome bird, 



closel\-, I have never known them to do anv 

 h;irm. 



ID i|uote \'arrell once more — " There can 

 be no doubt but that, were persecution abated, 

 the Pie would speedily become as common as 

 it once was, for it is very prolific, and, since 

 little comes amiss to its omnix'orous appetite, 

 food would generallv be plentiful. There 

 also is reason to think that its restoration to 



The Magpie {Piccr pica, I, inn). 



it can i^e easily tamed, and it makes a delight- 

 ful pet. There is no need to cage it up and 

 so destroy the beauty of its feathers. I ha\e 

 had two of these birds in my garden for over 

 two years. Thev are allowed perfect liberty, 

 and regularly share with the cat and the dog 

 the household scraps. Both are on the most 

 familiar terms W'ith all the household, and ^o 

 far as 1 can say, after watciiing them very 



its former abundance might be a decided gain 

 to the agriculturist, since slugs, snails, insects 

 ,ind worms form, nut of all proportion to any- 

 thing else, the greater part of its diet, for its 

 consumption of grain or fruit is trifling, and 

 it is also a great destroyer of mice and rats — 

 a fact of which the gamekeeper is seldom 

 mindful, though never forgetting its assaults 

 on Icxerets and rabbits." 



„?t-i». 



