The Raven. 
(208) THE B.RD WORLD. 
place of those killed, may themselves 
have been reared there in days long de¬ 
parted ; but in that case where have they 
spent the intervening years, and how 
come they to know that the old site is 
untenanted ? It seems almost impossible 
to suppose that in the interval they 
should not have established themselves 
elsewhere, but if that were so, why should 
the new home be deserted in favour of 
the old ? The only other hypothesis 
would seem to be either that the birds 
do not breed at all, until an eligible site 
for a nest becomes vacant, or that, 
though forced by circumstances to 
emigrate to other lands, they still keep 
up communication with the old country, 
and are ready to take up residence in 
the ancestral home as soon as the death 
of a parent shall have made room for 
them. 
Can They Reason ? 
But if that were so, should we not be 
forced to concede a power of reasoning, 
and a sort of unwritten code of the laws 
of succession, to birds, which might jar 
against all preconceived ideas? Be it 
so ! We cannot, in the present state of 
our knowledge, follow the argument 
much farther one way or another. A 
dog or a horse undoubtedly understands 
much that is said to it by its master, or 
those who know it well; and who has 
not sometimes felt that a “ dumb animal ” 
would speak to us if its tongue could 
but frame the words to which its sense 
of feeling would give utterance? And 
if a quadruped' >he credited with this 
power, why should we draw the line at 
a bird? At any rate, everyone who has 
had much experience of Ravens, either 
tame or wild, will readily admit that if 
there is any bird which equals him in 
reasoning power (whatever that may 
mean) and adaptability, there is certainly 
none that excells him; and if the lower 
animals should be destined ever to hold 
direct communication with man, that 
there is no more likely channel, through 
which the tide of knowledge may 
eventually run, than the weird and mystic 
bird that forms the subject of this essay. 
Far distant then, let us hope, may be the 
day when the last of bur native Ravens 
shall have been banished from our midst; 
and all honour to those kindly land- 
owners, who, even at the cost of some 
slight damage to game or stock, still 
suffer the birds to occupy an ancestral 
home in some secluded corner of their 
domains—a home to which the occupiers 
might perhaps trace a line of direct de¬ 
scent far beyond that of even the ruler 
in the castle himself, and whose occupa¬ 
tion in all probability antidates the 
arrival of even ancestral man upon the 
scene. 
The Open-Air Treatment. 
Appreciation of the benefits derived 
from open-air treatment is not being 
confined to relief of human ailments. 
The application of the same principle 
has in recent years become a recognised 
part of the treatment of animals in 
captivity, and it is interesting to note 
that the Zoological Society of London 
has been a promising force in this work. 
The attempt of the Society has been to. 
provide more natural conditions for the 
animals, and it has laboured especially 
to extend accommodation in the open 
air. Limited resources have curtailed the 
amount of work it is able to accomplish, 
but even with this handicap the Society 
has succeeded ; already in giving a much 
larger amount of freedom to many of 
the animals than these formerly enjoyed. 
Attempts have been made in some cases 
to give certain specimens complete 
liberty after they had been domiciled 
for a time in the gardens, and so far 
these animals do not seem inclined to 
wander from their familiar habitation. 
In cases iu which complete liberty cannot 
be given, large spaces have been covered 
in. Good instances of this can be seen 
in the Parrots’ flying aviary, the large 
paddocks for Cranes and Bustards, the 
ponds for Sea Lions, and the new en¬ 
closure for Antelopes. The improved 
health enjoyed by the animals to which 
the principle of open air treatment has 
been applied encourages the Society to 
go forward in this work, and as funds 
permit further extensions will be carried 
out. 
