172 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



rabbits tliey were after, the dog would do the " driving," 

 while his feathered comrade posted himself at the entrance 

 to the run, and pounced on the scared bunny as he ran 

 out. If the latter was too large for him to kill by himself, 

 he kept harassing it with beak and flapping wings until 

 the dog came running up. Then the two made short work 

 of their victim. 



These two strange companions also used to go in for 

 rat-hunting, and onlookers pronounced the Raven to be as 

 quick and clever as a ferret. 



Another dog and Raven friendship was one of the 

 sights to be seen, some years ago, at the Red Lion Inn at 

 Hungerford. A Bishop drove into the yard one day, and 

 the wheel of his chaise brushed against a Newfoundland 

 dog and passed over the poor creature's leg, bruising it 

 badly. While he and the ostler were examining the 

 limb, and doing what they could to ease the hurt, he 

 noticed the Raven watching everything with great 

 interest. As soon as the dog was tied up in the stable, 

 the Raven went off and fetched the nicest bones he could 

 find, and laid them before his disabled friend. 



Better known is the story that Gilbert White tells in 

 his Natural History of Selhorne, but a good many of you 

 may not have read it. 



" On the Blackmoor estate there is a small wood 

 called Losel's, of a few acres. In the centre of this grove 

 there stood an oak which, though shapely and tall on the 

 whole, bulged out into a large excrescence about the 

 middle of the stem. On this a pair of Ravens had fixed 

 their residence for such a series of years that the oak was 

 distinguished by the title of The Raven Tree. 



" Many were the attempts of the neighbouring youths 

 to get at this eyrie. The difficulty whetted their inclina- 



