Winged Vermin Food of the Rook. 441 



rook, wholly and without exception. A popular naturalist 

 says : The rook saves acres of grass from being destroyed 

 by the grub of the common cockchafer beetle. The grub 

 or larva of this insect is one of the most destructive foes 

 to grass lands, feeding upon the roots and shearing them 

 nearly level with the surface of the ground by means of 

 its scissor-like jaws. So destructive are these insects, and 

 so complete are their ravages, that a person has been able 

 to take in his hand the turf under which they had been 

 living, and to roll it up as if it had been cut with a spade. 

 He goes on to say that, when it is remembered that this 

 creature has attributes remarkably adapted for destroying 

 grass, the services of the rook may be better imagined. 

 We agree with him that the rook is useful and bene- 

 ficial to the agriculturist in this matter, and although we 

 would point out that the jackdaw is even more arduous 

 in its search for these grubs than the rook, still we do 

 not gainsay the latter bird's utility. 



Many fruits are very attractive to the bird, and its pre- 

 sence in gardens and orchards, for the purpose of thieving 

 the carefully grown dainties, is often a source of annoy- 

 ance which, would it confine its attention to berries and wild 

 fruits, would not be created. Oak apples suit the rook, 

 and not content with plucking and eating this fruit, it has 

 a curious habit of burying them with a view to a " rainy 

 day," while the cones of Scotch firs are similarly stored as 

 additional provision. 



After a careful enumeration of the food which the rook 

 obtains from without the province of the game preserver, 

 we have now come to a point where we are obliged to 



