336 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



and not unmusical. They are far from be- 

 ing disagreeable to my ear, though they 

 have a cadence which is expressive of 

 dreariness and melancholy. These notes 

 might be correctly represented on a C flute 

 by commencing with D in the octave, and 

 running down by semi-tones to one octave 

 below, and constantly repeating this per- 

 formance, for the space of about a minute, 

 with occasional pauses and slight varia- 

 tions. The owl does not slur the passage, 

 and the separate notes in the scale may be 

 distinctly perceived, with intervals of 

 about a semitone 



The owl is not usually regarded as a 

 useful bird. Perhaps the generality of vthe 

 tribe deserve to be considered only as 

 mischievous birds of prey, and no more 

 deserving of mercy and protection than 

 the hawks to which they are allied. Not 

 so should we regard the little red owl, or 

 his congener, the barn owl of Europe, or 

 any of the smaller species. The red owl 

 is very serviceable as a destroyer of ver- 

 min ; and I have no doubt that were the 

 species to be domesticated, one pair of 

 owls would keep our enclosures almost en- 

 tirely clear of rats and mice. The owl 

 flies low, because his prey consists of those 

 small quadrupeds which are generally out 

 by twilight. It is probably on account of 

 his low flight that he is so seldom seen 

 when on the wing. He is said by those 

 who have observed his habits to be re- 

 markably diligent and expert in taking his 

 prey, and to be in the habit of destroying 

 and carrying to his nest a greater amount 

 of provision than is necessary fur the sup- 

 ply of his family. 



The reader may form a conception of 

 the usefulness of the owl from the follow- 

 ing remarks of Mr. Waterton : "He 

 says that ''if this useful bird caught its 

 food by day, instead of hunting for it by 

 night, mankind wonld have ocular demon- 

 stration of its utility in thinning the coun- 

 try of mice ; and it would be protected and 

 encouraged everywhere. It would be with 

 us what the Ibis was with the Egyptians. 

 When it has young, it will bring a mouse 

 to the nest every 12 or 15 minutes. But in 

 order to have a proper idea of the enor^ 

 mous quantity of mice which this bird des- 

 troys, we must examine the pellets which 

 it ejects from its stomach in the place of 

 its retreat. Every pellet contains from 

 four to seven skeletons of mice. In six- 



teen months from the time that the apart- 

 ment of an owl on an old gateway was 

 cleaned out, there has been a deposit of 

 above a bushel of pellets. * * * When 

 farmers complain that the barn owl des- 

 troys the eggs of their pigeons, they lay the 

 saildle on the wrong horse. They ought 

 to put it on the rat. Formerly I could get 

 very few young pigeons, till the rats were 

 excluded effectually from the dovecote. 

 Since that took place, it has produced a 

 great abundance every year, though the 

 barn owls frequent it and are encouraged 

 all around it. The barn owl merely re- 

 sorts to it for repose and concealment. If 

 it were really an enemy to the dovecote, 

 we should see the pigeons in commotion as 

 soon as it begins his evening flight ; but 

 the pigeons heed it not ; whereas, if the 

 sparrow hawk or hobby should make its 

 appearance, ihe whole community would 

 be up at once ; proof sufficient that the 

 barn owl is not looked upon as a bad or 

 even a suspicious character by the inhabi- 

 tants of the dovecote." The English barn 

 owl alluded to by Mr. Waterton, is likewise 

 indigenous in America, thouojh not so 

 common as the red owl. 



Few^ persons are aware of the vast 

 amount of mischief which may be com- 

 mitted in our fields by field-mice, which, 

 without some such check as that of the 

 owl, would multiply with incredible rapid- 

 ity. Mr. Jessie remarks in his " Glean- 

 ings" that "an extraordinary instance of 

 the rapid increase of mice, and of the in- 

 jury they sometimes do, occurred a few 

 years ago in the new plantations made by 

 order of the Crown in Dean Forest, GloU"!- 

 cestershire, and in the New Forest, Hamp- 

 shire. Soon after the formation of these 

 plantations, a sudden and rapid increase 

 of mice took place in them, which threat- 

 ened destruction to the whole of the young 

 plants. Vast numbers of these were 

 killed, the mice having eaten through the 

 roots of five year old oaks and chesnuts, 

 generally just below the surface of the 

 ground. Hollies also, which were five or 

 six feet high, v.ere barked round the bot- 

 tom ; and in some instances the mice had 

 crawled up the tree, and were seen feed- 

 ing on the upper branches. Various plans 

 were devised for their destruction ; traps 

 were set, poison laid, and cats turned out ; 

 but nothing appeared to lessen their num- 

 ber. It was at last suggrested that if holes 



