4 RAVEN. 



nest ; they flap their wings, and at length take courage and fly to some 

 more commodious and not distant lodgment. Gradually they become 

 able to follow their parents abroad, and at length search for maintenance 

 in their company, and that of others, until the period of breeding arrives, 

 when they separate in pairs, and disperse. 



Notwithstanding all the care of the Raven, his nest is invaded where- 

 ever it is found. His usefulness is forgotten, his faults are remembered 

 and multiplied by imagination ; and whenever he presents himself he is 

 shot at, because from time immemorial ignorance, prejudice, and destruc- 

 tiveness have operated on the mind of man to his detriment. Men will 

 peril their lives to reach his nest, assisted by ropes and poles, alleging 

 merely that he has killed one of their numerous sheep or lambs. Some 

 say they destroy the Raven because he is black ; others, because his 

 croaking is unpleasant and ominous ! Unfortunate truly are the young 

 ones that are carried home to become the wretched pets of some ill-brought- 

 up child ! For my part, I admire the Raven, because I see much in him 

 calculated to excite our wonder. It is true that he may sometimes hasten 

 the death of a half-starved sheep, or destroy a weakly lamb ; he may eat 

 the eggs of other birds, or occasionally steal from the farmer some of those 

 which he calls his own ; young fowls also afford precious morsels to him- 

 self and his progeny ; — but how many sheep, lambs, and fowls, are saved 

 through his agency ! The more intelligent of our farmers are well aware 

 that the Raven destroys numberless insects, grubs, and worms ; that he 

 kills mice, moles, and rats, whenever he can find them ; that he will seize 

 the weasel, the young opossum, and the skunk ; that, with the perseverance 

 of a cat, he will watch the burrows of foxes, and pounce on the cubs ; 

 our farmers also are fully aware that he apprises them of the wolfs prow- 

 lings around their yard, and that he never intrudes on their corn fields 

 except to benefit them ; — yes, good reader, the farmer knows all this 

 well, but he also knows his power, and, interfere as you may, with tale of 

 pity or of truth, the bird is a Raven, and, as Lafontaine has aptly 

 and most truly said, " La loi du plus fort est toujours la meilleure ! " 



The flight of the Raven is powerful, even, and at certain periods 

 greatly protracted. During calm and fair weather it often ascends to an 

 immense height, sailing there for hours at a time ; and although it cannot 

 be called swift, it propels itself with sufficient power to enable it to con- 

 tend with different species of hawks, and even with eagles when attacked 

 by them. It manages to guide its course through the thickest fogs of 



