168 THE ROOK 



estimated. The laying-down of much land in recent years to per- 

 manent pasture may have something to do with the severer attacks 

 of rooks on crops than formerly, and also account for their depre- 

 dations, extending in some localities to the pheasant and poultry- 

 rearing grounds, also to their in fruit-growing districts making 

 onslaught on strawberries, cherries, gooseberries, and raspberries, 

 especially in dry weather, and sometimes apples and pears. These, 

 however, are local, rather than general depredations, and certainly 

 of recent acquirement. As everybody knows, the rook dearly 

 loves walnuts, and some say cobnuts and filberts. Fruit-growing 

 extension, therefore, demands a decrease of rooks, not the lea"st of 

 their offences being that of frequenting bush fruit grounds where 

 manure is put on in frosty weather preparatory to digging in when 

 the weather permits, and by settling on the bushes, particularly 

 gooseberries, of spreading and pendulous habit, breaking off branches 

 by their weight and ruining recently planted trees. 



Trapping rooks is a very old practice, but is now somewhat 

 precluded, as spring-traps are not allowed to be set in the open for 

 dread of catching winged or ground game, and incurring severe 

 penalties. Nevertheless, there is no difficulty in trapping rooks, 

 as they generally alight on the same spot to clear off corn or bill 

 out potatoes, thus enabling the trapper to judge where to set. The 

 traps can be baited, or just set and left to take their chance. We 

 advise the farmer, to conceal each trap and use bait of springing 

 corn on the table for cereal crops, and a portion of potato, prefer- 

 ably a partly rook-eaten one, affixed to the plate, and the trap so 

 covered that only a bit of the bait is visible, for attacks on potato 

 crops. Thus set, the rook will invariably be caught across the head 

 or neck by the jaws of the trap, and dies in a few seconds. On the 

 other head, a rook caught by the leg does not stop struggling until 

 away or dead, consequently the bird may take its departure minus 

 a foot, or much torture be inflicted. Of " catch 'em alive " traps 

 the rook is very wary, and as no scarecrow is so effective as a 

 tethered (by the leg) rook, traps with jaws bound with indiarubber 

 are sometimes employed, so that the leg caught is not easily frac- 

 tured. A very ancient plan J of making " fools " of rooks is to 

 procure some v-shaped brown paper bags of small size, and smear the 

 inside to the outer edge'Vith birdlime, setting up in the declivities 

 of the land after sowing corn, or setting potatoes, and dropping 

 into each a wireworm or Cockchafer grub easily collected in plough- 

 ing or digging. The rook sees the bait, pushes its head into the 

 bag, which adhering causes the bird to "caper " and make his fellows 

 merry, or at least raise a great outcry, and leave the crop alone. Of 

 course, the blinded bird should be captured, and either tethered 

 or killed and hung up as a scarecrow. (See further, p. 240.) 



1 Mentioned in Practical Trapping, p. 43, L. Upcott Gill, Bazaar Builc]- 

 ings, Drury Lane, London, W.C. 



