144 WILD-FOWL AND SEA-FOWL OF GREAT BRITAIN 



drawing a piece of hard wood over the teeth of a 

 dressing-comb. Have those who made that state- 

 ment ever tried such a plan, I wonder ? If they 

 have, and it has succeeded, all I can say is, that 

 they must be far better performers with a comb, or 

 rather I might say on one, than any one where 

 I live. 



The Corn Crake never makes use of its wings if 

 it can possibly avoid doing so. Its flight is very 

 deceiving, a sort of half-crippled wing-and-leg per- 

 formance, but when well up — and birds of this family, 

 the Rails and Crakes, mount high when they mean 

 to travel — they go at a very great pace, like some 

 other short-winged birds that are well known. To 

 a great extent the Corn Crake is local in its choice 

 of a nesting site ; when once it has fixed on this, 

 there it will remain. 



One small meadow, surrounded by cottages which 

 were filled with children, was laid down every year 

 for hay, the owner getting enough off it to keep his 

 donkey in the winter-time. Now such meadows 

 are not supposed to be walked over, but the " crake- 

 crake-crakes " — now here, now there — were a little 

 too much for the rising generation of those cottagers. 

 They quartered the meadow in all directions, but 

 they never caught sight of a Corn Crake. When 

 the grass was cut there, they were very anxious to 

 help make the hay, at least so the youngsters 

 declared ; but in reality they wanted to get the 

 young Corn Crakes, and, if possible, one or two of 

 the old birds. They did see some of them certainlv, 



