THE ROOKERY AT DUSK 



denote something more than this, but we have no 

 clue to the origin or object of the tumult. 



How graceful and accomplished a flyer the rook 

 can be ! Often he seems cumbrous on the wing, 

 but now he floats and dives through the sky with 

 consummate ease and grace. In and out among 

 each other the rooks sail and soar like swifts in 

 serenest air. Effort is minimized to the dis- 

 appearing point. The bird is upheld like gossamer. 

 No park or village should be without its rookery. 

 It is one of the few drawbacks of living in the 

 midst of a great wood, timber and coppice mixed, 

 that rooks do not take kindly to such a spot. They 

 will come to the woods at certain seasons for the 

 chafers and other food, but they prefer a more open 

 country for nesting : yet a minute or two of flight 

 will take a rook out of the centre of the largest 

 wood in England to its feeding grounds. 



The Pearl Skipper 



It is good not to have read all the best books of 

 our favourite authors. In the same way we may be 

 well rewarded for overlooking during many years in 

 our district a local bird, butterfly, or flower. It is 

 something saved up for the years to come. The 

 satisfaction which the late reading or discovery gives 

 is all the greater the new book, animal, or plant 

 coming to us with compound interest in pleasure 

 and entertainment. Thus with delight I discovered 



197 



