THE DAILY LIFE OF OUR FAEM. 123 



flutter when only wounded by the shot. Paley, in his 

 interesting work on " Natural Theology," remarks upon 

 the wonderful provision of Nature, whereby the sounder 

 a bird sleeps the faster gripe his claws take of the 

 perch. This seemed the case, too, with the wounded 

 rooklings. 



There had been a small hawk about for some days, 

 which we desired to exterminate, seeing that the young 

 pheasant broods are abroad now. I fancied I saw him 

 alight on the topmost branch of a silver fir, fully eighty 

 yards off. Taking aim, without the least expectation 

 of success, I fired, and brought doAvn, sad to relate, a 

 lovely turtle-dove, one pellet having pierced the brain. 

 There was, of course, much reprobation of this slaughter 

 in the nursery ; and they were right too, although the 

 time is approaching when the pigeons will have to be 

 warned off the pea crops. 



The rook-skins I have cured and stuffed, to be hung 

 in terrorem over the ripening fields. One shrewd 

 friend, who is free to acknowledge the benefit these 

 birds do by destroying the grubs, is rather " riled " that 

 they let alone eleven acres close to their and his abode, 

 which are alive with wire-worm. My conclusion and 

 mode of consoling him is, that the prudent colo- 

 nists reserve that nearest home against a rainy day, 

 just as one keeps an extra five pounds always in the 

 house against difficulties unforeseen, through wife's 

 bonnets, &c. 



But I can write no more. A pet half-Alderney, a 

 magnificent milker, has, despite precautions taken, 

 fallen with milk fever, as her mother did before her. 

 The ailment is clearly constitutional. This implies 

 retrenchment of cream at the approaching strawberry 



