238 THE ROOK. 



When a Crow, by some mischance, gets its plumage wet, 

 the bedraggled appearance which it presents has given rise 

 to the expression " drookit like a Craw," which is often 

 heard in the county in rainy weather with regard to a 

 person who has been exposed to a heavy downfall, and 

 whose clothes have got soaked : — 



Wet to the skin amang the stocks, 

 We gang a' day wi' waesome looks. 

 Like drookit Craws or heartless Rooks, 



The sheaves to set up. 

 And lang for night and cozy nooks, 

 And hearths weel het up.^ 



About the nesting season some Eooks get so hoarse that 

 they cannot utter their usual " craw," but give vent to an 

 abnormal note instead ; and in some cases no sound is 

 heard at all, although the bird is seen to open its bill, and 

 attempts to " craw " in the ordinary way. This peculiarity 

 has apparently been the origin of the popular remark often 

 heard with reference to a person who is very hoarse, that 

 he is " roopit like a Craw," or " as hoarse as a Craw." " As 

 black 's a Craw " is a common expression in the county ; 

 and self-admiration is hinted at by the following proverb, 

 " Ay, but ye're a bonnie pair, as the Craw said to its ain 

 twa feet." ^ The expression " as straight as the Crow flies " 

 is sometimes heard, and when the distance across country 

 between two places is spoken of, it is said to be " as the 

 Crow flies." 



The following places in the county have seemingly 

 derived their names from having been much frequented 

 by Crows : — The Crow Wood, near St. Leonards, parish of 

 Lauder ; Crawlee, in Greenlaw parish ; North and South 



1 " Lines on the late unfavourable weather," by George Henderson, Surgeon, 

 Chirnside, 12th September 1857. 



2 This proverb was repeated to me by Miss Georgina Milne-Home, Milne 

 Gradeu, 31st January 1887. 



