The Zoologist— October, 1868. H03 



to our rich Irish soils and humid climate. Many fanners have told 

 me that they sow extra, purposely for the crow, and yet at the same 

 time do all in their power to prevent "her" eating the "extra." The 

 consequence is often deplorable to themselves, in long, husky, thin and 

 shrivelled grain, if not a total lodgment of the crop. Many farmers 

 throw away in seed-oats the keep of a horse for the year, to get no 

 return for the same but disappointment. In Scotland I have seen most 

 ingenious devices to keep away rooks. About the best is to vein your 

 field with yarn stretched from sticks : fields done in this manner 

 appear as if covered with a huge white cob-web ; the cost being very 

 trifling. "Caps" of cotton-yarn are the best for this purpose. No 

 rook will ever approach such a field. I never remarked any better 

 produce in such a field than in one frequented by rooks. The rook 

 has destroyed a vast amount of vermin off the lands where your cereals 

 are now growing : you know it. Would it not, then, be required by 

 Nature that something should supply the place of, perhaps, too large 

 an amount of insect-life destroyed (it is well known that insects and 

 birds are required to keep down vegetation, else vegetation would 

 destroy itself), and what more worthy of his hire than the rook ? Place 

 yourself between two evils — the minimum destruction by the bird, the 

 maximum and finally total destruction by the insect — and is it not 

 better to submit cheerfully to the laws of Nature and her God, by 

 whose breath all things were created, than to fight vainly on the side 

 of avarice, the blindest canker on man's soul — the seed of every sin. 

 It is useless for ornithologists to deny certain destructive properties of 

 the bird ; they should rather try to teach and make known their uses, 

 for we could not live without them — paramount in Britain is the rook. 

 In the story of the Creation we find blessing applied only to three 

 orders of creation — the creatures of the waters, the fowl of the waters 

 and the air, and man. Fowl are more mentioned in the creation than 

 any other order of created beings put under man's dominion. What 

 a delight the beautiful creatures are to our eyes and ears ! what years 

 of delight their study gives to many ! If more could say with the 

 Psalmist, " I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the works of thy 

 hands," there would be less ignorance, and brighter days for the poor 

 birds. " I muse on the works of thy hands destroyed" is too often the 

 thought of the scientific man who never is a naturalist except by 

 name. Though the Creator gave man dominion over the birds, as 

 over all created life, their destruction was never intended, except for 

 purposes of utility, food, &c. Such birds as are used for food are 



