402 



Some Notes on the Food of Birds. [oct., 



milk, but it frequently happens that the butcher prefers a 

 younger animal, in which case less milk will have been 

 required. The prices in the table are approximate only. 

 New milk, for example, is often worth more than 6d. per 

 gallon , F j us t as fat calves are often worth less than £5 ; indeed 

 some of the best quality veal calves only weigh about 14 stone 

 of 8 lb. dead weight, which at 5s. 6d. a stone comes to £3 17s., 

 and at 6s. per stone to £4 45. Veal cannot be made profitable 

 when both milk and calves are dear, but reverse this order 

 and given the three essentials of cheap calves of the right 

 stamp, a plentiful supply of surplus milk and dear veal — and 

 good quality veal often sells well in the spring — then the fatten- 

 ing of calves should become a paying occupation. As before 

 stated, the work is small compared with dairying, which 

 involves a considerable outlay both for implements and skilled 

 labour, the latter commanding a high rate of remuneration. 



SOME NOTES ON THE FOOD OF BIRDS. 

 Cecil H. Hooper. 



In fairness to cultivators of the soil, whether as farmers, 

 fruit-growers, or market gardeners, it is desirable to endeavour 

 to obtain an unbiassed estimate of the relation between 

 birds and crops, taking account both of the good and 

 harm done. In the United States there is a special branch of 

 the Department of Agriculture dealing with economic ornith- 

 ology, which arranges for many thousands of birds to be killed 

 annually in order to ascertain their food at different times of 

 the year. In the British Isles this work has been left chiefly 

 to naturalists and other observers, who have, however, not 

 all worked on a common system of inquiry. In some cases 

 special study has been devoted to certain birds, of which 

 perhaps the best known is the valuable little book on the house 

 sparrow by Col. C. Russell and Mr. J. H. Gurney, published 

 in 1885, while the Highland and Agricultural Society's Journal 

 for 1896 contains an article of ninety-two pages devoted to 

 " Bird Investigation " in which the relation of wood-pigeons, 

 rooks, and starlings to the agricultural interest, as shown by 

 their diet, is discussed. More recently a pamphlet was published 

 under the title " The Rook as a foe to Sport and Agriculture." 



