4286 THE ZooLoctisTt—JANUARY, 1875. 
cultivator, and can tell far better than I whether the owl, the 
kestrel, the rook, the starling, or the gull do them more good or 
harm; but such men, at least so it seems to me, too often neglect 
the duty of educating their less-instructed countrymen. It is of 
little use for me, writing, as I have been told, in a garret, to appeal 
to the cultivator of the soil who is always on the spot, always in 
the open, always beholding the objects I describe; he would only 
laugh at such impertinence; but such men as Mr. Cordeaux or 
Mr. Reeks might obtain attention if they would sow their knowledge 
broadcast over the land. The common herring gull is an invaluable 
servant of the farmer, wherever his farm borders on the sea, but 
even he may exceed the limits of faithful service, and take that to 
which he is not welcome, as Dr. Saxby has shown us :— 
“Their visits to the fields are, however, not always for the benefit of the 
cultivator, much good though they may do in the winter and early spring 
by destroying the worms, grubs, &c., turned up by the plough; for a casual 
scarcity of fish will cause them to resort to the turnips, where they will in 
a short time do the most serious mischief. I have known a large field of 
turnips half destroyed by them, the roots being scooped quite hollow. They 
seem to dislike the outer portion, interfering with it as little as possible, 
and only removing enough to enable them to reach the softer parts 
within. Sometimes a gull may be seen with its head completely hidden 
inside a turnip, but, as if conscious of its danger, constantly withdrawing it, 
and casting a glance all round, to guard against a surprise. It must be 
owned also that they take a heavy fee for the service they render in following 
the plough, for they return to the field when it is newly sown, and pick up 
every grain of oats or barley left uncovered by the soil.”"—P. 341. 
The predatory propensities of the greater blackback are very 
unfamiliar to many of my readers, and therefore an extract may 
serve to place this matter in its true light. This bird is well known 
as an insatiable devourer of carrion, in this respect rivalling the 
eagle, or perhaps even the vulture of other climes: it is said in 
Shetland to be the only sea-bird that will “ touch the human;” 
but no evidence that it will do so has, to my knowledge, ever been 
adduced. Dr. Saxby has seen it swoop down upon a shag for a 
share of the fish that was about to be swallowed, and has also 
seen it devour a young cormorant; but the following very circum- 
stantial account of its feats is, I think, more interesting :— 
“T have repeatedly known it pounce upon birds in trouble. For example, 
one November day, as I was lying concealed behind some rocks waiting for 
