66 
BY THE WAYSIDE 
decidedly harmful and among them the 
duck hawk and the goshawk. Fortu¬ 
nately such species are rare. The most 
common of the powerful species are 
Cooper’s hawk and the sharp-shinned 
hawk. 
Inttances where the destruction of 
hawks and owls have brought on a plague 
of rodents or insects are not unknown. 
Mr. Peter Adair in the Annals of Scottish 
Natural History, attributes the checking 
of a plague of rats to the rapid increase 
of the short-eared owl. In the west an 
increase in the number of grasshoppers 
and crickets has been observed as a re¬ 
sult of the short-sighted destruction of 
the sparrow-hawk, a totally harmless 
species. 
Jack's Sumftter With Vs, 
Tommy, our old black and white cat, 
was possessed by an inordinate passion 
for devouring all the birds he could lay 
his claws on, and his disagreeable habit 
of bringing his prize into the house, and 
expressing at the same time in blood¬ 
curdling mews, his delight at the capture, 
gave opportunity for forcible correction; 
but as lately nothing but mice had been 
brought for approval, hopes were enter¬ 
tained that the sweet, feathered creat¬ 
ures, were being spared to live out their 
happy lives. 
One morning after a severe storm, how¬ 
ever, we noticed that Tommy was much 
interested in a tiny, dark, fluttering ob¬ 
ject, his sharp eves had discovered in the 
wet grass, the hall-fledged bird—as it 
proved to be—had evidently been thrown 
out of the nest, and was in an exhausted 
condition, too young to obtain food for 
itself, or fly away. It was simply impos¬ 
sible to leave it to be eaten bv Tommy, 
or die of starvation, so it was brought 
into the house where careful nursing 
soon changed it into a happy, lively 
bird, with an enormous appetite. Not 
the slightest movement could be made 
near him, without causing a shrill chirp, 
as the little head with wide open mouth 
spring up so exactly like a jumping Jack 
that all acquired the habit of calling him 
Jack. But how he did eat! * 
No account was eyer kept of the quan¬ 
tity of food taken; but one day, besides 
flies, caterpillars (his special dainty) and 
berries, nearly a cup of bread and milk 
vanished down Jack’s throat, and he 
was still asking for more. 
When Jack was hardlv larger than a 
minute he tried to bathe in a few drops 
of water spilled on the floor. A small dish 
was given him, and so great was his de¬ 
light that he fairly danced around it, 
stood for a second picking at the water, 
then in he plunged, dipping in his bill, 
and fluttering vigorously, both wings and 
tail, sprinkling himself and everything 
near-bv until thoroughly drenched. He 
finished by a general dressing of his 
plumage in the sun. 
Even after his feathers seemed fullv 
* 
grown, Jack showed no disposition to 
fly, but enjoyed hopping around, until, 
suddenly one day with a shrill chirp, 
and whirl of wings, across the room he 
flew, and out of the window, down to 
the garden. After that, as no attempt 
was made to prevent him. he went wher¬ 
ever he fancied, always returning how¬ 
ever to pass the nights in a favorite 
corner, where a perch was placed for him. 
Tommy, at first, seemed inclined to 
think Jack would make him a fine meal, 
but after receiving strong hints otherwise, 
(Continued on last pa ye.) 
