ROOKS AND THEIR RELATIVES 119 



them, you will see the hooded crow. Sometimes he 

 is shot miles inland, where he has certain favourite 

 places of resort ; in the large tracts of uncultivated 

 country that fortunately still remain to us he is quite 

 at home, and he does his best to live honestly there. 

 There is much insane raving about cultivating the 

 ' wastes ' for the benefit of the community at large, but 

 I should like to see the babblers try the experiment ; 

 the ground is so poor in the best portions of some of 

 these ' wastes ' that it will not grow enough nourish- 

 ing vegetation to fatten the rabbits called hedgehog 

 rabbits that swarm in the barren spots. If one 

 wished to offend a person, one could not do it more 

 effectually than by inviting him to dine off a pair of 

 these pinwire vermin. 



The hooded crow will walk round the sheepfolds, 

 perch on the top of the fold-stakes, and examine the 

 sheep with a critical eye, especially if there is any 

 disease about. He is constantly flapping from one 

 spot to another ; I do not think I have ever seen one 

 quiet for five minutes together. The grave charges 

 preferred against his near relative are not extended to 

 him ; he seems to be a useful picker-up of uncon- 

 sidered trifles, a grey-cloaked scavenger of the line of 

 downs and sandhills bordering on the sea-shore. 



The common rook, common though he is, is very 



