SUMMER [Chap. 



85. The rook always keeps above boards and 

 his colour causes him to be seen from afar. 

 Rooks move in battalions^ too; but these melan- 

 choly doves are like private stealers^ that depend 

 upon their powers of deception. They are as 

 silent, as nimble, and as demure, as she pick- 

 pockets. All the others make some noise or 

 other, but the doves make none ; and there is 

 no way of matclnng them, but being continually, 

 during the hours of day-light, in the field with a 

 gun. Larks are very bad ; for the fields are 

 their roosting place ; but a gun fired off now and 

 then in the field, and in various parts of it, will 

 keep the whole of the feathered race away. I 

 did not discover this until it was too late to pre- 

 vent great mischief; and if I had not discovered 

 it at all, I verily beiie\'e I should have lost nine^ 

 tenths of the crop. When I did discover it, I 

 had a man constantly in the field with a gun, 

 firing off ]:)OA\der nou' and then, and the depreda- 

 tions instantly ceased. But, observe, the gun 

 must be heard in the field, not only as soon as 

 it is light, but a little while before it is light, or 

 the guardianship is totally useless ; for birds go 

 to bed before it is dark, and they move from 

 their roost at the very first glimmering of light. 

 This, however, is no very great thing to do, see- 

 ing that the danger lasts for only about a fort- 

 night, for by that time the plants become no 



