154 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 



refuse to be thrown straight. I reached my point 

 without disturbing the rooks, and tried to throw my 

 wretched stone at a venture at the spot where I 

 knew the rooks must be pretty thick ; but just as the 

 stone left my hand a pigeon rose. The stone made 

 a boomerang-like curve, and caught the pigeon just 

 where the upper part of its bill joined its head as it 

 were, on the bridge of its nose. The effect lasted 

 just long enough to enable me to secure the pigeon. 

 The rooks meanwhile spluttered off, evidently as 

 much surprised to see me as I was to see the 

 pigeon. 



With the wood-pigeons large numbers of turtle- 

 doves will resort to fields of ripening wheat, and 

 therefore are credited with eating the wheat. That 

 the doves feed on the wheat may be the rational 

 inference, but it is not the true explanation of their 

 presence. Shoot some doves that rise from such 

 a field, open their crops, and you will see that they 

 are crammed with the ripening seeds of charlock. 

 However many pigeons patronize a field of wheat, 

 if there is no charlock in it there will not be any 

 gathering of doves. Later on, when wheat is ripe 

 and lying wasted on the ground, doves may eat 

 a few grains ; but it is my opinion that they are 

 nearly as good friends to the farmer as peewits, 

 which know not the taste of corn. Since pigeons 

 are so fond of the charlock buds, it seems strange 

 that you seldom find a charlock seed in a pigeon's 



