154 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 
refuse to be thrown straight. I reached my point 
without disturbing the rooks, and tried to throw my 
wretched stone at a venture at the spot where I 
knew the rooks must be pretty thick ; but just as the 
stone left my hand a pigeon rose. The stone made 
a boomerang-like curve, and caught the pigeon just 
where the upper part of its bill joined its head—as it 
were, on the bridge of its nose. The effect lasted 
just long enough to enable me to secure the pigeon. 
The rooks meanwhile spluttered off, evidently as 
much surprised to see me as I was to see the 
pigeon. 
With the wood-pigeons large numbers of turtle- 
doves will resort to fields of ripening wheat, and 
therefore are credited with eating the wheat. That 
the doves feed on the wheat may be the rational 
inference, but it is not the true explanation of their 
presence. Shoot some doves that rise from such 
a field, open their crops, and you will see that they 
are crammed with the ripening seeds of charlock. 
However many pigeons patronize a field of wheat, 
if there is no charlock in it there will not be any 
gathering of doves. Later on, when wheat is ripe 
and lying wasted on the ground, doves may eat 
a few grains; but it is my opinion that they are 
nearly as good friends to the farmer as peewits, 
which know not the taste of corn. Since pigeons 
are so fond of the charlock buds, it seems strange 
that you seldom find a charlock seed in a pigeon’s 
