288 PHEASANTS 



ask him to include mice among his ground 

 vermin, for they are not above suspicion 

 as egg-stealers, and are in any case no 

 desirable feature of the rearing-field ; nor 

 is there any danger of their extermination. 



Among winged vermin we would put 

 in a plea for the handsome jay, whose 

 misdeeds have been much exaggerated. 

 Although we cannot urge as much for the 

 magpie, still he is a pleasant object to 

 the unprofessional eye, and he might well 

 be tolerated, in strictly limited numbers, 

 without great harm to game. This, how- 

 ever, is but a counsel of perfection, for 

 few keen gamekeepers, with the wel- 

 fare of their charges at heart, could be 

 induced to acquiesce willingly in the 

 preservation of a nest of magpies on their 

 ground. 



The owl is always a difficult problem. 

 Nothing can be said for the recently 

 introduced and rapidly spreading little 

 owl in the southern counties, and but 

 little for the short -eared owl in the 

 northern districts where he breeds. The 



