AMONG THE WHEAT. 153 



quest of their prey. Farmers, and more especially 

 game preservers, persecute these birds incessantly, 

 without giving a thought to their usefulness. The 

 corn-fields swarm with mice and rats, so likewise 

 do the barns and outbuildings. The usual food 

 of the Barn Owl and the Wood Owl is mice and 

 rats, and the number of these little animals caught 

 among the wheat is incredible. Softly the 

 useful birds pounce down again and again on 

 their prey, ridding the fields of their destruc- 

 tive pests, claiming no reward from man, asking 

 only to be let alone. Every year these useful 

 birds are becoming scarcer ; the ignorant in- 

 tolerance of farmers and keepers is slowly but 

 surely working their extinction, and the mice and 

 rats will soon have things much their own way. 



Here, then, we will leave the birds to the 

 farmer's careful consideration. Let him watch 

 the habits of these feathered policemen, and con- 

 vince himself of their usefulness. Let all lovers 

 of the feathered tribe plead their cause with the 

 farmer and the gardener ; and, if this will not do, 

 let us have these birds placed more effectually 

 under the protection of the law. This question is 

 one of vital importance to the industry of agri- 

 culture, and, all sentiment aside, is one which 

 irresistibly appeals to every lover of birds. 



