VERMIN 133 



as the result of practical observation, I fearlessly assert 

 that they are wrong. I would not shoot an owl on any 

 consideration, and they are in great numbers at my 

 home, where they breed in holes in the old trees. 

 (The tawny species is here referred to.) At the same 

 time, were pheasants or partridges being reared, or a 

 large head of game expected, owls would not receive 

 the same generous treatment. In Sir Herbert Max- 

 well's book already alluded to, the Memories of the 

 Months, when writing on owls the author dwells at 

 considerable length on the habits of these birds. Much 

 as I respect this distinguished writer, I regret that, as 

 a Scotsman, he does not give us the result of practical 

 observation in his native country. Instead of this, he 

 prefers to quote from a German author, Dr. Altum. 

 He states that this German doctor examined 2 10 pellets 

 of the tawny owl and 706 pellets of the barn-owl, and 

 goes on to enumerate the number of mice, amounting 

 to thousands, found in these pellets. Why such a 

 recognised authority should go to the Continent, where 

 birds of the singing class are conspicuous by their 

 absence, in order to find the pellets of owls, requires 

 some explanation. Surely this Scottish naturalist 

 could have found owls and made his observations on 

 his own extensive estates, instead of having them 

 " made in Germany." I have all my life picked up the 

 pellets of owls to examine them, and have found the 

 remains of all song-birds. One picked up the other 

 day contained the feet and feathers of a thrush. A 



