NOTES AND QUERIES. 19 



burying them is there detailed ; and the quotation from Robinson's 

 ' Natural History of Westmorland and Cumberland,' 1709, is there given, 

 having been kindly communicated to me for that purpose by the editor. — 

 0. Pickard Cambridge (Bloxworth Rectory, Dorset). 



The Dispersal of Acorns by Rooks.— In Mrs. Hugh Blackburn's 

 1 Sketches of Birds from Moidart,' of which a review is given in this 

 number, the following observations ou the habits of Rooks are of interest 

 in connection with what has already been noted by other observers. Mrs. 

 Blackburn says : — " The Rooks did not build here when we first came (in 

 1856), but only flew across the fen from Armadale on predatory excursions. 

 At harvest-time they would carry off potatoes and hide them, sometimes 

 forgetting where they were buried, and leaving them to come up in 

 unexpected places the following spring. They also transplanted acorns we 

 had sown, sometimes replacing them in a more favourable spot." 



The Dispersal of Acorns by Rooks.— Referring to Mr. Clement 

 Reid's observations under this heading in the last number of ' The 

 Zoologist,' I may state that I once found a young oak-tree in a sheltered 

 ravine amongst sea-cliffs on the northern coast of Hoy, Orkney. The tree 

 was a little over six feet in height, and was growing luxuriantly amongst 

 beds of primroses and ferns. A few Rock Doves bred near the place, and 

 I concluded that an acorn had been brought by one of these birds; but 

 where from? Unless it had been picked up on the sea-shore, it must have 

 been carried a long way indeed. It could hardly have been brought by 

 man, as the place was very remote, as well as difficult of access. Rooks 

 occasionally crossed the Pentland Firth, and one of these birds might have 

 couveyed the seed ; but in any case the fact is interesting, and perhaps 

 worth recording. — J. J. Armistead (Sol way Fishery, Dumfries). 



The Dispersal of Acorns by Rooks. — The U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture has lately issued an exhaustive report by Messrs. Barrows and 

 Schwarz, on the Common Crow of the United States [Corviis americanus), 

 its food and habits in relation to agriculture. A careful examination was 

 made of the contents of the stomachs of more than 900 of these birds, 

 procured in different months of the year, and the results were tabulated. 

 Several chapters deal respectively with the animal, insect, and vegetable 

 food of the Crow, and the relative percentages of animal and vegetable food 

 are considered. Under the heading " Vegetable Food," in chapter iv., we 

 read (p. 97), "Acorns in Crows' stomachs reached the maximum in 

 October, when they formed 15£ per cent of the contents of the stomachs 

 examined. In November the percentage fell to 9f ; in December to about 

 4, with a slight increase in January ; while in February this average was 

 doubled, and in March reached almost 9£. These figures naturally reflect 

 the conditions of the food supply. In October most acorns ripen and fall, 



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