THE POLICE OF NATURE. 
217 
horse ; they ought to put it to the rats ; for that he 
formerly could get scarcely a young pigeon for the table ; 
but after he found out the cause, and had all the rats in the 
dovecot destroyed, then every year he had young pigeons in 
abundance, although some barn owls regularly roosted in the 
dovecot, and others were and still are encouraged all around 
it. Yet, so far from the pigeons feeling any alarm or dis- 
trust, they seem perfectly reconciled to them. But should 
a hawk make its appearance, then in an instant the whole 
colony is up. He tells us also, that he has been repaid a 
hundredfold for protecting and encouraging these beautiful 
birds by the enormous quantities of mice they nightly 
destroy. They Avill also devour beetles, and other large 
insects that come in their way ; but mice are their principal 
food, and the food they hunt after. 
As to the rats destroying pigeons' eggs, and the young 
pigeons, I can bear testimony ; for a colony of them ate not 
only my eggs and young ones, but the old ones too. Yes, 
in one night they devoured my whole flight ; leaving 
nothing but shells and feathers behind ; and I must tell you 
also, that among them there was a pair of fancy tumbler 
pigeons' eggs, for which I would not have taken a five- 
pound note. You will read the whole account under the 
title of " Cruel destruction among rabbits, pigeons," &c. 
Then to prove the barn owl's inability to hunt in hedges 
and the close branches of trees after small birds or their 
nests, just put one into the middle of a bush, and you will 
soon see that it is as helpless as if it were in the water. 
Nature has not framed it for such work. The eyes are too 
large, and the feathers upon the body, head, and face, are 
too soft, and not rightly made or placed, to enable it to 
glide through close quarters with the snake-like ease of 
other birds, whose every feather is pointing or bearing 
towards the tail. Indeed, if you examine the feathers on 
the owl's head and face, to say nothing of their extreme 
softness, you will find them so placed, that if he attempted 
to pass through a hedge, he would receive injuries similar to 
what another bird would by being dragged through the 
hedge tail first. 
The plumage of the owl is very thick, for the purpose of 
defending it from the cold night air, and also very soft, to 
