MANAGEMENT OP PHEASANTS IN PRESERVES. 



February to tlie middle of March, in a corn-growing district, while the spring 

 com .is sowing, the rook hurries over the new-sown land, and picks up all stray 

 grains that comes under his observation, as weU as worms, grubs, slugs, bits of 

 potatoes, pieces of half-decayed scales of oyster shells, little pieces of lime, sand, and 

 gravel — all together hoarded under the lower mandible, which looks like a big full 

 pouch as he arrives home to his mate in charge of the nest. Here his load is 

 delivered to the mate, who, with great ado, chews it over, and ejects the pellet or 

 quid in due course. This business is continued tUl late at night. Many times, 

 passing under the trees at various hours, from ten p.m. till three a.m., I have 

 heard . the peUet drop, and have had them faU on my head and shoulders, and 

 picked them up by the light of the moon or lantern. The rook's excreta are at 

 this time pretty soM. As the month of March is nearly ended this alters ; and in 

 April, when the corn is sprouted and growing, the ejecta are like sloppy mud, 

 and contain the husks of a few grains of corn, wings of beetles, pieces of snail 

 shells, lime, and grit. From this time tiU June no peUets or quids are to be 

 seen; the droppings are loose, and like whitewash over the vegetation underneath. 

 Insect food gets so various and abundant that they and their broods seem to 

 entirely subsist on it for six or eight weeks, and the young thrive and grow fat 

 wonderfully quick in showery, growing weather of AprO. and beginning of May. 

 The young that are spared from the gunners, as soon as they can fly, are enticed 

 away early in the morning by their parents, at first by short flights, to the fields 

 then prepariag for turnip sowing, or the pasture that produces cockchafers, fern 

 beetles, and other insects, and .for a few nights roost on trees near their work. 

 After they get strong on the wing, and good flyers, they all come back to their 

 native home, the rookery. As soon as a field of early podded peas is pretty fuU, 

 the rook, if not looked after, will take toU; also of w^heat or barley they will 

 certainly, if an opportunity is afforded them, filch a portion, particularly such as is 

 near trees or has been laid by wind or wet. Then, again, commences the real 

 peUet-ejecting season. The rook then hurries to the unguarded field to filch corn, 

 which he stores in his pouch as quickly as possible, picking up also on the pasture 

 and turnip fields, &c., quantities of grubs, snaUs, slugs, beetles, earwigs, grass- 

 hoppers, crickets, fern flies, various other insects, and their larvae. It is truly 

 astonishing to see, as I have done for years, on examining those ejected peUets, 

 what variety at times they contain — besides remains of every kind of creeping, 

 running, or flying insect that may chance to come in their way, in the season of 

 ripening of seeds on the pastures a number of grass and weed seeds, the husk of 

 corn — wheat and barley — many kinds of weed and coarse grass seeds. After harvest 

 and gleaning season is over, no more pellets are to be seen. In the wheat-sowing 

 season they filch some loose grains and dig out the young plants, and, through its 

 being wet at this season, and collected with much dirt, the food is ejected in a loose 



