158 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 



taken from the nest before, so to speak, they are 

 weaned. Young bullfinches also, I believe, require 

 a peculiar food produced by their parents only when 

 having access to natural food. 



In the summer pigeons feed very freely on 

 oak-galls those pretty, round, translucent, green, 

 vermilion-spotted globes about the size of a pea, 

 from which come the flies that cause the brown 

 oak spangles to be seen on the under sides of the 

 fallen leaves in autumn, from which in turn shall 

 come the larvae to continue the cycle of gall-fly life. 

 Much as I love bluebells, I cannot fancy their fat, 

 green, three-sided seed-pods as food, yet wood- 

 pigeons relish them. I have found in the crop of 

 a pigeon so strange a mixture as wild strawberries 

 and the seed-pods of bluebells. 



The fall of a good crop of beech-mast and acorns 

 affords opportunity for excellent pigeon-shooting. 

 But seldom is a big bag to be made without a high 

 wind which likely enough is accompanied by rain 

 to make the pigeons fly low, and to concentrate 

 their direction toward the most sheltered spot. 

 Those who would enjoy the best of wood-pigeon 

 shooting must be prepared to face any weather 

 the worse the weather, the better for getting shots 

 at pigeons. Probably the reason why pigeon 

 diphtheria is so prevalent in an acorn year is that 

 it is spread by the afflicted birds distributing the 

 germs through acorns, which they mouth, but 



