THE GAMEKEEPER'S AXXOYANCE. 211 



which is inserted the list of different birds of prey aud 

 foiirfooted vermin that have been killed during the year, 

 and for whicli they are paid so much a-head, in propor- 

 tion to the destruction they are supposed to cause amongst 

 the hares, pheasants, and partridges. There is no doubt 

 that some intelligent gamekeepers, who by constantly 

 watching the flight and movement of birds of prey, are 

 able to discriminate and discover that some of these 

 birds, such as the peregrine and goshawk, are of infinite 

 service to them, by the war they wage against the roy- 

 ston, carrion crow, and magpie, which it has been fully 

 ascertained destroy great numbers of eggs of pheasants, 

 partridges, and grouse, and also many of the young- 

 broods. Thus, putting in the scale the good and harm 

 these hawks do by killing a few grouse and partridges, 

 it certainly cannot be the interest of the sportsman to 

 endeavour totally to destroy the race of these noble 

 birds.* This guerre a oidrance against bird and 

 beast is also a serious annoyance to the naturalist, and 

 in the course of the last fifty years the species of many 

 of these have become extinct; among which I must 

 mention that noble bird the bnstard, the marten cat, the 

 eagle, the raven, and kite, in England. In Scotland 

 and Ireland the king of birds is becoming very scarce. 

 I know one county in England where fifty or sixty 

 years ago badgers might be found in most of the large 

 covers, and at the present time you rarely hear of one 

 of these animals being dug out. Gramekeepers say they 

 suck eggs and destroy young leverets, which I do not 



* I -was told that a gamekeeper of Lord M.'s, in Oxfordshire, trapped, 

 last summer, t-«'enty-six hawks of different species. He placed a post 

 on a down where there were no trees in the neighbourhood. The top 

 of the post being made concave, a ti-ap was seciired in this hollow with- 

 out a bait, and the hawks coming to perch thereon, were thus taken. 



