OUR BIRD ALLIES. 113 
CHAP iis Vit. 
THE ROOK AND HIS KIN. 
THE Rook—Persecution again—Wiser counsels prevail—Pre- 
vost-Paradol on the Rook—lIts occasional mischief— 
Counterbalancing services—The Rook in the corn-fields— 
The Rook in the turnip-fields—Followers of the plough-— 
Sociable nature of the Rook—Its code of laws—Nesting 
arrangements—The Rook as a weather prophet—How to 
distinguish Rooks from Crows. 
THE position of the Rook in popular estimation has 
greatly altered, and very much for the better, in the 
course of the last few years. Not so very long ago 
it was pretty generally regarded as the deadly foe of 
the agriculturist, one which at all costs must be kept 
down in order that the earth might be enabled to 
yield her increase. ‘Traps were set, poisoned grain 
was laid down (always a most dangerous experiment), 
and the gun was brought into use, untilit seemed more 
than likely that the rook would suffer the same fate 
which has befallen so many others of the feathered 
race, and be driven from the country by the very 
men whom he benefited so greatly. 
At last and by gradual degrees, however, it was 
realised that a bird which is mischievous during a 
part of the year may be so useful during the remainder 
as to more than compensate for its former ravages. 
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