ROOK-SHOOTING 373 



it has its charms, chiefly due to the time of year, 

 and also, perhaps, because it affords the opportunity 

 for using one's gun in a legitimate and necessary 

 cause once more before it is finally relegated to 

 its case for the summer months. 



To bring down a rookling from the topmost 

 bough of a tall elm-tree in a neat and workman- 

 like manner with a single bullet from a pea-rifle 

 demands a true aim and steady hand ; and one 

 bullet should be enough, since more would but 

 shatter the bird, and ruin its fitness for a pie. A 

 rook-pie when properly made is truly a * pretty 

 dish '; but when its preparation is entrusted to 

 incompetent hands, it is but a sad affair, especially 

 if the crowning ingredient, the cream, is omitted, 

 or the birds have been badly shot or riddled with 

 bullets. I think that the present is a fitting 

 opportunity for giving the instruction necessary 

 to make a rook-pie in the orthodox fashion. 



The birds must be plucked and skinned as 

 soon as possible after they have been killed ; the 

 thighs and breast (the only portions which are 

 utilized) removed, and placed in milk-and-water 

 for at least twelve hours ; then put them into 

 the pie with a few slices of tender steak, a few 

 hard-boiled eggs, and pour a teacupful of cream 

 over the whole. Lastly, the pie should not be 

 cut until it is quite cold. Young rooks when 

 required for cooking should be shot with a gun, 

 inasmuch as they are thus less liable to be 

 shattered than when killed with a rifle. 



