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KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



this way is too trifling to be put against 

 their "good services " in other ways, which 

 should entitle them to the " pension " of life 

 and protection. Some twenty years ago, 

 while on a visit in the neighborhood of 

 Blandford, and while laboring under the 

 usual prejudices against the rooks, one un- 

 fortunate rook fell to our gun, while bear- 

 ing food to its young. We do not wish to 

 forget our deep regret when, as the poor 

 bird fell heavily to the ground and lay 

 gasping out its dying breath, we saw crawl- 

 ing from its mouth a large mass of worms 

 and grubs, which it had collected in a 

 ploughed field hard by. His death-warrant 

 was signed under the impression that it was 

 com he had been gathering from the recently 

 sown field. Never have we, from that day, 

 shot an adult rook ; and every new fact that 

 we have since then obtained towards its his- 

 tory, lias confirmed us in our resolution. 

 The following extract, from the Gardeners' 1 

 Magazine, vol. 9, p. 718, is much to our 

 purpose : — " Hunger may compel the rook 

 to feed on grain, but it is too well known for- 

 me to say anything about it, that its favorite 

 food is insects, in the larva state. I have re- 

 peatedly examined the crops of rooks. In six 

 young ones that had been shot, the crops were 

 nearly filled with wire-worms ; in the crops 

 of others, I have found the larvae of the 

 cockchafer, and other grubs that I am not 

 entomologist enough to know the names of. 

 In one or two instances, in frosty weather, 

 I have examined the crops of one or more 

 rooks that have been shot ; they contained 

 dung, earth, and a small portion of grain. 

 I will just notice, that the land adjoining 

 Mr. Wile's rookery is yearly sown with 

 grain or pulse, and in no instance that I 

 have known or heard of, has the crop failed 

 in consequence of its nearness to the 



rookery ; while T. D n, in his allotment 



at Midload, in which he shoots every rook 

 he can meet with, has his crops annually 

 ravaged by wire-worms and ground grubs to 

 a vexatious extent." — J. D., sen., Wisbeach, 

 Oct 17, 1833. 



T. D n was, we think, rightly served ; 



" Live and let live " was a motto that he 

 evidently did not practise, and Providence 

 justly ordered that his cruelty and selfishness 

 should meet with their due reward. 



Sixty grubs, that had been recently taken, 

 were found within a rook that was killed in 

 a field close to Fosters Booth, Hampshire, 

 belonging to the Eev. W. Clarke, a short 

 time since. — Dorset Chronicle, May 30, 1831. 



Rooks too are a cheerful accompaniment 

 to the landscape and mansion ; and their lively 

 habits in early spring, when building their 

 hanging cots, would be badly replaced by the 

 quiet desolation which would be caused by 

 their destruction. We trust farmers are be- 



coming more alive to their real interests, and 

 that the rook will be cherished as a valuable 

 assistant to the diligent agriculturist. 

 The Magpie {Pica candata.) 

 No one can deny that this pretty and 

 amusing bird is, in the breeding season of 

 birds, a most determined and cunning thief; 

 and that he will take whenever he can the 

 eggs of other birds, and consider them dainty 

 morsels for his breakfast, dinner, or sup- 

 per. Yet, notwithstanding these admitted 

 depredations, which however we think might 

 be greatly lessened by proper attention, we 

 love to see the magpie, and could spare his 

 life, not only for his rich and magnificent 

 coloring, which we think add much to the 

 beauty of an English landscape, but we 

 protect him especially for the benefit he 

 confers upon us as a destroyer of countless 

 insects. " After the season of incubation is 

 over, the magpie becomes a harmless bird 

 (unless the pilfering of a little unprotected 

 fruit be considered a crime), and spends the 

 remainder of the year in works of great 

 utility to man, by destroying millions of 

 insects, and by preventing the air from 

 being infected with the noxious effluvium 

 arising from the scourings of slaughter- 

 houses. The cattle too are in some degree 

 benefited by the prying researches of this 

 sprightly bird. At a certain time of the 

 year, it is often seen on the backs of sheep 

 and oxen, freeing them from vermin, which 

 must be exceedingly troublesome to them." 

 — C. Waterton, Loudon, vol. 9, p. 226. 

 (To be Continued.) 



HUMANITY TO ANIMALS. 



To the Editor, — Sir, the tone of your 

 Journal will obtain it a ready entrance 

 amongst all who love Nature and her works. 

 The paper on " Persecuted Animals," by Dr. 

 Beverley R. Morris, which appeared in 

 your Thirteenth Number, is one that de- 

 serves special notice, and I feel bound, as 

 one of the public,, to thank the writer, 

 through you, for his advocacy of that very 

 useful animal the mole. 1 was not before 

 aware, that " moles never remain in land 

 that is not infested by grubs." I had thought 

 their chief prey was worms. 



I have known more than one farmer, how- 

 ever, who would much sooner lose one of his 

 hares than one of his moles. A farmer once 

 informed me, that his land had been entirely 

 free from giving foot-rot to his sheep before 

 the moles had been destroyed, but that after- 

 wards, he was never free from that visita- 

 tion. He would, therefore, willingly import 

 moles on his land if he could get them. 



Again, the workings of the mole have a 

 most beneficial effect on the land as regards 

 its healthiness, by letting the air into the 



