MAGPIE FIELDS. 177 



whom the oak furnishes food. The jays, for instance, 

 are now visiting them for acorns ; in the summer they 

 fluttered round the then green branches for the 

 chafers, and in the evenings the fern owls or goat- 

 suckers wheeled about the verge for these and for 

 moths. Eooks come to the oaks in crowds for the 

 acorns; wood-pigeons are even more fond of them, 

 and from their crops quite a handful may sometimes 

 be taken when shot in the trees. 



They will carry off at once as many acorns as old- 

 fashioned economical farmers used to walk about 

 with in their pockets, "chucking" them one, two, or 

 three at a time to the pigs in the stye as a bonne 

 louche and an encouragement to fatten well. Never 

 was there such a bird to eat as the wood-pigeon. 

 Pheasants roam out from the preserves after the same 

 fruit, and no arts can retain them at acorn time. 

 Swine are let run out about the hedgerows to help 

 themselves. Mice pick up the acorns that fall, and 

 hide them for winter use, and squirrels select the 

 best. 



If there is a decaying bough, or, more particularly, 

 one that has been sawn off, it slowly decays into 

 a hollow, and will remain in that state for years, the 

 resort of endless woodlice, snapped up by insect-eating 

 birds. Down from the branches in spring there 

 descend long, slender threads, like gossamer, with 

 a caterpillar at the end of each the insect-eating 

 birds decimate these. So that in various ways the 

 oaks give more food to the birds than any other tree. 

 Where there are oaks there are sure to be plenty of 

 birds. Beeches come next. Is it possible that the 



a 



