148 THE CHRONICLES OF A GARDEN. 



never quite sure whether it is you who are bestowing 

 attention and notice upon the raven, or the raven Avho is 

 bestowing it . upon you ! We have had three ravens at 

 different times, who were allowed to live in freedom, and it 

 was curious to see how distinctly these birds knew their 

 own premises, rarely wandering even into the next garden, 

 and how soon each bird learned to know the sound of 

 opening the dining-room window as a signal for being fed. 

 One lived thus for many years, his wings uncut, and per- 

 fectly able to fly away if so inclined ; he used sometimes to 

 amuse himself by taking a flight, and would soar above 

 the garden in company with the rooks passing by; but 

 whenever a fear entered our minds that he might goo too 

 far off, we had but to ring the dinner bell, the sound of 

 which invariably brought him to the front of the house to 

 be fed. His sense of time was correct, and his punctuality 

 exemplary ; both at the breakfast and dinner hour, he was 

 sure to be seen stalking about before the windows, and not 

 seldom was the old raven supplied before either the guests 

 or the family. For several years this bird built a nest 

 every spring, at first in a holly tree, and afterwards in a 

 large cage in the garden where he slept, and the door of 

 which stood always open. While engaged in this work, he 

 or she was certainly a troublesome inmate of a garden, for, 

 not satisfied with gathering all the stray pieces of stick, he 

 would pull up every tally and rod he could find, dragging 

 sometimes large dahlia-poles to his cage, though utterly 

 useless for his purposes. I used to look upon a raven's nest 

 as a sure resource all summer if I required either a tally or 



