THE BULLFINCH. 323 



in the care of liis sister, and on liis return, was 

 told that his bullfinch was very ill. With feelings 

 of sorrow. Sir William went up to the cage, 

 opened the door, put in his hand, addressed the 

 bird in the usual endearing manner, when it opened 

 its eyes feebly, shook its feathers, by a great effort 

 reached the outstretched finger of its master, feebly 

 piped " God save the King," and expired. 



The bullfinch is no favourite with the gardeners, 

 for it destroys many early buds of our fruit-trees, 

 stripping the apples, pears, plums, gooseberries, 

 and cherries of the gardens ; and then going away 

 to the sloe bushes, and doing sad havoc in the 

 hedges. Its strong bill also enables it to get at 

 the seeds which lie in the cones of the fir, and in 

 the beech mast, and it eats corn, flax seed, and the 

 seeds of the nettles. It cannot be pleaded in be- 

 half of this, as of some other birds, that it selects 

 for its food such buds as have a worm enclosed 

 within their folds ; for it is tlie bud itself which is 

 the delight of the bullfinch, and thus in winter and 

 early spring it is sadly destructive to fruit lands. 

 A writer in the Magazine of Natural History 

 says—" Witnessing, a few springs since, the havoc 

 made by a number of bullfinches on two thriving 



