AND RURAL ECONOMIST. 309 



secured by the safest of all tenures, that of the interest of 

 man in permitting him to live. 



'There is scarcely a farm in England without its rookery; 

 the humid atmosphere multiplies every species of insect, and 

 those birds reward man for his forbearance by ridding him 

 of legions of his foes. By a policy like that which dictated 

 the revocation of the edict of Nantes, they have occasionally 

 been exposed to the mischievous propensities of unruly boys, 

 who, as far as utility is concerned, are not to be compared 

 to crows : but the error of this step soon became obvious, 

 and they are now received with a universal welcome. The 

 hawk enjoys a doubtful reputation in the hen-roost: he 

 sometimes destroys the chickens but with the consistency 

 of man does not like to see his infirmities copied by an- 

 other ; and by way of compensation demolishes the fox, 

 which eats twenty chickens where he eats but one ; so that 

 it is hardly the part of wisdom to set a price upon his head, 

 while the fox, a hardened knave, is not honored with a penal 

 statute. How the owl became to be included in this black 

 list, it is difficult to conjecture ; he is a grave, reflecting 

 bird, Avho has nothing to do with man, except to benefit him 

 by eating weasels, foxes, racoons, rats, and mice, a sin for 

 which most housekeepers will readily forgive him. In some 

 parts of Europe he is kept in families, like the cat, whom 

 he equals in patience and -supa,sses in alertness. Another 

 of these birds, the blackbird, is the avowed enemy of grubs, 

 like the crow; in the middle states, the farmer knows the 

 value of his company to pluck them from the furrow ; and 

 while other less pains-taking birds collect the vermin from 

 the surface, his investigations are more profound, and he 

 digs to the depth of several inches in order to discover them. 

 When the insects are no longer to be found, he eats the corn, 

 as well he may, but even then asks but a moderate compen- 

 sation for his former services. Five hundred blackbirds do 

 less injury to the corn than a single squirrel. The last upon 

 the catalogue of persecuted birds is the blue-jay. Whoever 

 watches him in the garden will see him descend incessantly 

 from the branches, pouncing every time upon the grub, his 

 enemy and ours. 



' We have already seen that the act to which we have 

 referred protects some birds at certain seasons of the year ; 

 among others, the robin, who lives on ins3cts and worms, 

 and has no taste for vegetable diet, and the lark, who is ex- 

 tremely useful in his way. The only wonder is, that it 



