328 iiisJouY OF 



out of a heron's bellj', nine inches and a Imlf long. Several 

 gentlemen who kept tame herons, to try what quantity one of 

 them would eat in a day, have put several smallei- roach and dace 

 in a tub ; and they have found him eat fifty in a day, one day 

 with another. In this manner a single heron will destroy fifteen 

 thousand carp in half a year. 



So great are the digestive powers of this fresh-water tyrant, 

 and so detrimental to those who stock ponds with fish. In ge- 

 neral, he is seen taking his gloomy stand by the lake's side, as 

 if meditating mischief, motionless, and gorged with plunder. 

 His usual attitude on this occasion is to sink his long neck be- 

 tween his shoulders, and keep his head turned on one side, as if 

 eyeing the pool more intently. When the call of hunger returns, 

 the toil of an hour or two is generally sufficient to fill his capa- 

 cious stomach ; and he retires long before night to his retreat in 

 the woods. Early in the morning, however, he is seen assiduous 

 at his usual occupation. 



But, though in seasons of fine weather the heron can always 

 find a plentiful supply ; in cold or stormy seasons, his prey is no 

 longer within reach : the fish that before came into the shallow 

 water, now keep in the deep ; as they find it to be the warmest 

 situation. Frogs and lizards also seldom venture from their 

 lurking places ; and the heron is obliged to support himself upon 

 his long habits of patience, and even to take up with the weeds 

 that grow upon the water. At those times he contracts a con- 

 sumptive disposition, which succeeding plenty is not able to re- 

 move ; so that the meagre glutton spends his time between want 

 and riot, and feels alternately the extremes of famine and excess. 

 Hence, notwithstanding the care with which he takes his prey, 

 and the amazing quantity he devours, the heron is always lean 

 and emaciated j and though his crop be usually found full, yet 

 his flesh is scarcely sufficient to cover the bones. 



The heron usually takes his prey by wading into the water ; 

 yet it must not be supposed that he does not also take it upon 

 the wing. In fact, much of his fishing is performed in this 

 manner ; but he never hovers over deep waters, as there his prey 

 is enabled to escape him by sinking to the bottom. In shallow 

 places he darts with more certainty ; for though the fish at sight 

 of its enemy instantly descends, yet the heron, with his long bill 

 and legSj instantly pins it to the bottom, and thus seizes it sc- 



