Chapter III: Part 3

These Rats lie always by the waterside, and feed chiefly on grass and vegetables, eating neither flesh or corn, but they will devour green peas, when in season, if there are any growing near the ditches where they lie; these vermin do not much mischief, except in making holes in banks and spoiling fences; they make kennels or holes by the side of ditches, very much resembling those of the otter, for they have one way out in the water, and another way out by land, in order to escape from their enemies, which ever way pursued. The method of taking them is by setting little hutch traps by the side of the ditch or pond where they lie, with wings made with bushes or raised with mould, running aslant from the trap as a guide for them to go in, such as they have in warrens. Feed them with any thing green, such as the hard part or stalk cut out of a cabbage, or cabbage-leaves, which they will eat; but do not set your traps going till they feed boldly, and give them some leaves regularly, as you do the other Rats their proper feed; tie some of these leaves in the trap, then you will be a judge of what comes to feed, else one will convey away as much as ten will eat, which occasions you to conclude there are a great many of them. You may take them another way; get some small steel traps and put them in their runs, even with the surface of the ground, and covered over very nicely with the mould. These vermin are something like the Norway Rat, but smaller, their noses and tails are shorter, and their heads rounder, or what is commonly termed muffheaded.

THE
SQUIRREL.

These little animals are admired for their beauty, and for the sport they afford in hunting them among the trees; they are about the size of the stoat or cain, with a tail as large as their body, which they always turn up when they sit still, to keep their bodies warm; they are of a reddish colour, except under the belly, which is white; they make themselves nests or lodging places, commonly called drays, in a very neat manner, with small sticks, leaves, and moss, in the tops of the trees, where they hoard up nuts to serve them in the winter; but besides these, they make a reserve of nuts, acorns, and other things of a similar nature in retired and bye places, which they know where to find, in case the other should be taken away, which often happens; they are chiefly hurtful in destroying wall-fruit, for they will run along the top of the wall, taking the first choice of the fruit, whether nectarines, peaches, apricots, _&c._ and do prodigious mischief; I have caught them on the wall with a small steel trap, covered nicely, and in wood-walks I have seen them take the eggs out of birds-nests and break them, by that means destroying their nests. Their flesh is reckoned a great dainty by some persons, and is said to be superior to venison in flavour.

THE
MOLE.

This animal is in some places, but chiefly in the North of England, called a Want, and, contrary to most other vermin, lives chiefly under ground; its skin is of a fine black jet colour, very smooth and soft, and has short legs, with which they, with incredible swiftness, will dig themselves into the earth when they apprehend any danger; they are supposed by some people to be entirely blind, it being in many places proverbial to say _as blind as a mole_, but this is a mistake, for they have eyes as well as other vermin, but very small, appearing scarcely larger than the head of a common pin, but sufficient to serve their purposes, their residence being, as was before observed, generally under the earth.

These animals do great mischief in gardens and grounds, and if you find they come observe the outsides, for their angle, or run; or, if there is a path in a field, it is very probable but they have a run across the path, or at a gate-way, they will frequently have one; these are what we call the main runs, and about two or three inches under the earth, and may very easily be found by the heaving up of the mould or earth, along which they will run ten times in a day. When you have discovered one of these runs, you must tread in the earth tight, and when you come that way again, see whether it is as you left it, and if you perceive the Mole has been along, then set a trap, by which means I have caught several of them in an afternoon; these being their main roads out of one part of the ground to the other, for it will be of little signification to set a trap in any other angles or runs, and if you should, it may possibly remain a great while before a Mole comes; for in the spring, when they run near the surface of the earth, they make a great many different angles in search of the worms, on which and chaffers their chief food consists.

Now if they make hills in your fields or gardens, take notice of the places before mentioned, and set a trap in the following manner: Take a piece of board half an inch thick, four inches and a half long, by two and a half wide, then put a small hoop or bow at each end, with just room for the Mole to go through; then in the centre, at each side, put two small pegs, in order to keep them in the trap; for sometimes one that is shy, when he finds the peg before him that springs the trap, will turn out at the side and spring the trap, and not be taken: it is necessary therefore to use these small pegs, which will keep them in the straight road, placed as before directed. In the next place, get two strong horse-hairs, or pieces of small wire, then in the centre or middle of the bow, at each end, make a hole to put the hair or wire through double, then open the hair or wire just to fit, and lie close inside of the bow, like a noose, get some fine mould, make it moist like paste, and work some of it with your finger and thumb all round in the inside of the bow, so that the horse-hair or wire may not be perceivable. Through the hole in the centre of the trap let a short bit of string come. Put a forked peg tight in the hole, that may keep the string from slipping through, till the Mole, by going through, pushes it out; then the string slips up. When you have thus prepared the trap, then open one of the runs, exactly the length of the trap, and put it down in the run quite level, and make it all smooth, that there may be no light discovered. Then take three good strong hooked pegs, two on one side, and one on the other, and stick them down tight, then take a stiff stick, about four feet long, stick one end in the ground tight, bring the other end down to the trap and hitch in a loop, that comes from the hair or wire, and then it is set, and when the Mole comes he pushes out this little peg, then the string draws out, the bow-string flies up, and the Mole is caught; in the spring time, when you catch a she Mole, rub her back part about the bows and the inside of the trap, by which method I have caught eight he Moles successively; observe, when you have caught all that you perceive to move, you need only look round the outside of your fields, and keep some traps constantly going there, and they will lay hold of them as they come in and out; another expedient you may make use of, by putting some dead Moles in the runs where they come, which will prevent their coming, and keep your ground quiet and free from these trouble-vermin.

THE
HOUSE-MOUSE.

These are a nasty little vermin, well known, and are very nauseous, for wherever they come, whether in the pantry or larder, you may easily discover it by the disagreeable smell they leave behind them. They are very troublesome in dairies, where they will skim the milk, and will get into bird-cages after the seed, and kill the birds; and are mischievous in other instances, of which no mention needs here to be made. Many persons would doubtless be glad to be informed of a method to kill these vermin, which is done very easily; and to accomplish it nothing is so good as nux vomica; take a quart of the feed above prescribed for the rat, before there is any bread mixed with it, then take four figs of nux vomica, and rasp them very fine, or else they will pick the feed from it, upon account of the bitter taste; rub it well together, and it will be their certain bane. My method of laying it is after this manner; if they come into the larder at night, put the bread into a pan, and take the other eatables out of the way; then lay some of the feed on a piece of paper, and do this in two or three other places, which will not be attended with any danger, however, for fear of any accident, what is not eaten take away in the morning, and at night lay it down again, and so keep on as long as any come; in the dairy do the same, or in any other place where they appear; I have found several lay dead on the paper at one time, but remember always to lay the ingredients on paper, then you may take away what is left.

THE
FIELD MOUSE.

This is a larger Mouse than the former, being the largest of the Mouse kind, with a reddish back and a good deal of white under the belly. They abound in gardens, and frequently swarm in prodigious numbers in the fields: they will eat either corn or flesh just as it comes in their way. I have seen five or six of them by moon-light attack a large toad and kill it, which they do often; and when I have been trailing for a fox in the night, I have observed, by turning the light round, several of these Field-Mice following the trail. They are more difficult to destroy than the house-mice, on account that they are shy in taking any bait; however, sometimes, when I have been going to catch a fox, I have been sometimes obliged to put some of the feed (so often before mentioned) in the shrape, in order to kill the Mice, before I could get any to lie for the fox. In winter they will likewise come into houses at the sink-holes, and get into the pantries, larders and dairies, being driven from the fields by extremity of hunger, and prove very troublesome and pernicious; and in spring they will get into the gardens, and eat whole rows or drills of peas, after they are set: I can give no better method to destroy these vermin, than to lay some of the above feed for them, as you do for the other, on a tile, and shelter it with some pieces of old boards that it may not get wet: lay it out at night and take it in again in the morning, and all that eat of it will certainly die.

THE
RED SHREW-MOUSE.

This species of the Mouse-kind has a nose like a mole, and is in general a very harmless, inoffensive little animal, in regard to its preying on any thing: it is much smaller than the house-mouse. The chief mischief done by these vermin is, that in harvest-time they will come home with the corn, remain there and breed. I have known great numbers taken out of a rick; and I once remember half a bushel of these and other Mice caught at one time out of a rick or stand, which is often owing to the farmer’s own negligence and inattention; for you may often see a rick-stand made a nursery, occasioned by putting under it harrows, ploughs, hurdles and props: what avails it then to have a stand to fill the ricks in this manner, and assist the vermin up? You cannot indeed prevent their coming home with the corn, or when rats hop up and down the stand, which they do very easily: the best method, therefore, would be to nail some tin to the props, which would keep the Mice from getting up them; and when once you find they have got to a corn-rick, the best way is to take it in as soon as you can, for these Mice, in one particular, are worse than the rats among the corn, and do a great deal more mischief; for this reason, that they will live a great while without water, only by licking the ends of the straws, while any moisture remains therein, and all the while they remain in the ricks they do infinite prejudice. If it is not convenient to remove the rick, observe the following method; take a quarter of a pound of the best nux vomica, put it into an old saucepan, with three quarts of water, boil it till it comes to two quarts, and put two pounds of treacle to it, in order to overcome the bitter taste of the nux vomica; then take some small earthen pans, into which pour some of this mixture, and set the pans in different places under the eaves of the ricks; the Mice being in want of water, will greedily drink of the mixture, which will kill them; and this method you must continue till they are destroyed.

Before I conclude this account, I cannot help taking notice of a gross blunder, which a certain writer has made in his description of this little vermin, who asserts that it is as large as a rat, of the colour of a weasel, and very mischievous to cattle, and that it will get upon a beast’s back, and make it lame in the chine; and in consequence of the bite, the beast will swell to the heart and die; all which particulars are entirely erroneous; for its size is less than that of the common house-mouse, its colour like the squirrel; and as to the miraculous affair of its killing any beast or cattle, it is of a piece with the rest. On the contrary, I am convinced from long observation, that it feeds on roots, vegetables, and corn, and will not touch flesh on any account.

THE
BLACK SHREW-MOUSE.

This animal has a nose like a mole, and much resembles the red shrew-mouse, last described, except in colour; they are very harmless little creatures, for they seldom come to barns or ricks, their residence being amongst the grass, by the sides of ditches which they feed on. You may often hear them as you are walking along, squeaking by the path’s side, and making a noise something like the grasshopper; but they do not the least mischief that I know of; I thought proper however to mention them, that the reader might know that such a little animal really exists.

THE
GRASS MOUSE.

This Mouse is rather larger than the common Mouse, with a muff-head like a water rat, and a short club tail, looking as if the top was cut off, and has a great deal of the nature and disposition of that animal, for it eats no corn at all, but lives on grass and vegetables; being of a very harmless nature, it is a prey to other vermin, as the water rat is, (such as stoats and weasels) which are the worst enemies it has.

THE
DORMOUSE.

This is a small red Mouse, with a tail like a squirrel, and is the most harmless and inoffensive of all the mouse-tribe. It is a very beautiful tame little animal, and is kept by many persons in small boxes or cages, and fed with crumbs of bread, _&c._ They have one singular and peculiar quality, which is that of sleeping for several weeks together, without receiving the least sustenance, and appearing all the while as if dead. You may oftentimes find them in dry banks, or in wood, laid up very warm in a nest, in the ground, made with oak-leaves, and always asleep when you discover them.

THE
BAT.

This little animal is half mouse, half bird, having wings something resembling leather, and a head very much like that of the mouse, except that their nose is flatter, and their mouth wider; they keep close in holes all the day and never fly abroad till the evening, and that in the summer time, for which reason they are called in many places, the winged mouse; they live chiefly on flies and other small insects, and dwell in holes under the roofs of houses, churches, barns, old ruinated buildings, and in the holes of hollow trees, where in winter time I have sometimes found several scores of them closely adhering together, in large clusters, and in a torpid state, in which condition they doubtless remain till vivified again by the enlivening warmth of the sun, on the approach of the summer. I have been the more particular in my account and description of the different kinds of Mice, as perhaps many of my readers might be unacquainted, that there are so many distinct species of the mouse-kind.

THE
LARGE BLACK EAGLE
BUZZARD.

Having finished my account of the four-footed vermin, I now come to describe the winged-tribe of vermin, inhabitants of the air, which, notwithstanding, often descend to earth, and do much mischief; I shall begin with the Black Eagle-Buzzard, which is one of the largest and fiercest birds of the hawk kind, that breeds in England.

This bird frequents parks and warrens, and often catches leverets, young rabbits and pheasants, or any thing else that moves, as soon as the morning light approaches, for they are a very early bird; in winter time I have caught them in a steel trap, the same as is set in a cube for a dog; bait it with the guts of rabbits or fowls, or some pieces of rabbits that you find dead by accident; in spring I have caught them in steel traps, with the skin of a young rabbit stuffed and tied to the bridge, but after the young rabbits begin to be able to run about, they sometimes are shy and will not strike at a rabbit, unless they see him run; the steel traps that you set for this vermin should strike seven or eight inches high, in order to clear the bait as it ought to be, otherwise the jaws might only catch the bait, and miss the vermin; I have sometimes caught them with a rat in the following manner: set two traps in the manner as you see in plate VI. fig. 1. head to head, covered very nicely with moss, then round the circle as in the same plate, put some small pieces of fern, or a bush or two, quite low, that the bait may be visible and open; put the bait, whatever it may be, in the middle, between the two traps, then he must of necessity go over one of them, in order to get the bait, and by this means I have often caught him. Sometimes you may observe him to haunt a place in a warren or park for a week or fortnight together, then set your traps in the same method as before laid down, and you will be almost certain of taking him. Let your bait be a dead rat, if you can procure one.

THE
GREY BOB-TAILED
BUZZARD,
OR
PUTTOCK.

This bird is much of the same nature as the former, in haunting parks and warrens, for the destruction of rabbits and pheasants, going in search of them when the morning light appears. In this respect, however, it differs from the Eagle-Buzzard, that it is smaller. You may catch them with the steel trap above described, baited with the entrails of fowls or rabbits, or with some of the pieces of rabbits which may have been accidentally killed. They are to be caught easiest in winter time, for then I have known them haunt one place for a month together, in a warren, where you may easily catch them, as at that season they are short and destitute of food.

THE
LARGE FORKED TAIL
KITE.

This is the largest and heaviest bird of the hawk kind in England, but not near so fierce as the Eagle-Buzzard, being rather of a sluggish and indolent disposition, not caring much to hunt after prey; but when the other kites and hawks have killed any birds, they come upon them, and beat them away, and then devour the birds themselves; they chiefly dwell in woods and desart places, and frequent the sides of rivers and brooks, being fond of fish, and often eat the tails of the fish, which the otters have left behind them. You may catch them by setting two traps, in the same manner as you do for the buzzard; bait them with a piece of fish, if you have it, or with a rat, or the guts of fowls or rabbits, and when once you discover the places they haunt, you may catch them with the greatest facility.

THE
LARGE BLUE SHERARD
KITE.

This kind of Kite frequents forests, heaths, and other lonesome places, but especially bogs and marshy grounds, where they destroy great numbers of snipes, to which they are the worst enemy of any bird of prey of the hawk kind; they beat all over the bog with the greatest regularity and exactness, till they find them lying: for the nature of the snipe is, if they perceive their enemy in the pursuit, they lie as close to the ground as possible, when the Kite pounces upon them directly and takes them: I have observed one of these vermin beating at one end of a bog or marshy piece of ground; and at the other end I have stooped down till he has come up close to the place where I was, he looking stedfastly down for his prey, regardless of any thing else; and when he came near enough I have shot him; sometimes they will have a beat cross a warren, where I have caught them in traps, baited with what is termed a stall, which is a young rabbit-skin stuffed.

These vermin are very remarkable for one particular circumstance, for at any time when you observe any of them come along in the morning, you will be certain of seeing them return the same way back again in the afternoon, and three or four succeeding mornings they will have the same beat, if they are not frightened or disturbed; whenever, therefore, you see one go along in the morning, get a trap set ready against his return, baited with a rabbit’s skin stuffed and put on the bridge of the trap, as before directed, but remember to cover the trap nicely with moss; if you set it in a green sward, then cover it with grass, and in this manner I have often taken them; I have likewise caught them by means of two steel traps, set in the same manner as for the buzzard; but always mind when you set traps in this manner, to fasten down the bait between them with a peg, otherwise they will frequently take it away, and not strike the trap; but when the bait is fixed they cannot get it away, but are constrained to stop, when by hopping and picking about, they spring the trap and are caught.

THE
BLUE SHERARD
HAWK.

This bird, in many respects, resembles the blue kite last described, in haunting heaths, forests, and lonely places; especially quags and marshy grounds, doing much mischief, particularly among the snipes. You will always be sure of seeing him return home by the same path, in the afternoon, by which he pursued his flight in the morning, but he is not so large, and preys in much the same manner, but does not, however, frequent warrens so often as the other; you may catch them by the same method as the Sherard Kite, with a rabbit’s skin stuffed and put on the bridge of the trap, remembering to cover the trap nicely with moss or grass, observing the directions before given.

THE LARGE
BROWN, WHITE ARSE,
RING-TAILED
HAWK,

Is the most pernicious and mischievous Hawk that flies; but especially in destroying that admired game the partridge, which it takes, not so much by swift flying, as by the following manner or stratagem: viz. when they find a covey and spring them, they fly after them as fast as they are able, and mark where they pitch down again, and then spring them again; and thus keep following them till they catch their prey; for partridges, when they are driven hard for three flights, become so tired and languid that they are easily taken; I have sometimes observed one of these Hawks in full pursuit after a poor partridge, almost spent, when the Hawk has suddenly stopped, and alighted on a tree in the next hedge, to which I imagined the partridge had taken, as they frequently do, when they are almost tired or down. On this I got near enough the Hawk, being intent and earnest after his prey, shot him dead, and on examining, to my great surprize, found that the partridge, being driven by the Hawk, had taken refuge in a hutchtrap, that stood on the other side of the hedge, where the Hawk had marked it, and sat watching for its coming out again; these vermin will keep their walk or beat for some time very regularly. I have caught them in a trap, baited with a rabbit-skin stuffed, as before observed.

THE
SMALL RING-TAILED
HAWK

Is the largest of the Sparrow-Hawk kind, and is a very fierce and pernicious bird, destroying young ducks and chickens, in yards, &c. about farm-houses, in the fields, they kill black-birds, thrushes, and in the winter-season fieldfares and other small birds; I have driven one from a blackbird, and immediately set down a steel trap, covered quite smoothly, placing the same bird on the bridge of the trap, and have taken the Hawk, which returned soon after for its prey. They will likewise frequently come to the chicken-gardens and pheasantries, when you must set a steel trap, baited with a dead chicken or any other of the birds before mentioned; which they delight to feed on, and in all probability you will lay hold of them, and if you find they have been made shy, by reason of the trap striking and not catching them, which will sometimes, though very rarely, happen, you may destroy them after the following manner: take a live chicken, tie it to a small stake drove in the ground, by one of its legs, laying some bread or corn for it to feed on; then get out of sight, with your gun, and the hawk will come and strike at the chicken, when you may easily shoot him, and this method I have often practised with good success.

THE
SMALL SPARROW
HAWK.

Birds which fly wild in the fields, are the chief prey of this little Hawk. It very seldom destroys chickens, or any other kind of poultry, unless driven by the greatest extremity of hunger; I have driven them from a bird, and caught them in a steel trap as I have the others, having been allowed so much per head for all the winged vermin, as well as others that I destroyed, which made me very anxious and assiduous in trying and inventing various methods to destroy them.

THE
SMALL BLACK-HEADED
SPARROW-HAWK.

I never caught this Hawk in a trap, but have shot several of them; it is a very beautiful bird, and has a black head, with pointed wings, and is very quick and sharp after its prey, which are small birds of every kind. It is more timid than the last mentioned Hawk, and is seldom seen, there being but few of them in England. On which account we need not dwell minutely upon him.

THE
WIND-HOVER
HAWK.

You may often see this little brown Hawk, the smallest of the species, hovering in the air, then they steadily look down on the ground, and if they chance to see a mouse, they will dart with incredible swiftness, like an arrow out of a bow, and catch it; sometimes they will catch a mole, and I have frequently taken this kind of Hawk in a steel trap, by laying one of these animals on the bridge; and with this I conclude my account of the birds of the Hawk kind. The three last mentioned indeed do not much damage or mischief, but if I had not mentioned them the catalogue would have been incomplete; besides, I flatter myself it will be acceptable to my readers, some of whom might, possibly, not be acquainted that there were so many different kinds of Hawks which breed in England.

THE
BROWN
WOOD-OWL.

Few persons perhaps imagine this to be a pernicious animal, yet in my opinion, it is the very worst winged vermin that exists; they seize their prey with great fierceness, and break it up exactly as the cat does, by beginning at the fore part. It is very happy for the farmer, and others who keep poultry, that the ducks and chickens are gone to roost before the Owl comes to prey in the night, otherwise there would be few, if any of them left; however I now proceed to make good my assertion, and describe the infinite mischief done by this sort of Owls. When the evening approaches, many animals such as leverets, young rabbits, young pheasants, young partridges, who had lain quiet in the day-time, come out to feed in the stillness and silence of the evening, when there is nothing else to disturb them, the Owl then comes, when they are exposed, and takes away what he pleases, and if they happen to have young ones at the same time, it is impossible to conceive what numbers will be taken away in a night’s time to satisfy his voracious appetite; and this I can affirm from my own observation, as I used to make it my frequent practice to go out and hunt the Owls all round the outsides of the warren. The method was this, two of us used to go with a gun, one on one side of the hedge, and the other on the other side; a third person accompanying us with a long pole or stick, who therewith beat the hollow and ivy trees, when the Owls would fly out, and we have shot sometimes a dozen in a morning. But one morning particularly I found an Owl’s nest, and shot the hen; and, on examining the nest, I found two young ones, with several pieces of young rabbits, leverets, &c. therein, but we could not meet with the old cock; on which I took out one of the young ones, leaving the other in order to entice him home to the nest again; the next morning I repaired to the place, when he flew out, and I shot him dead, and took away the other young one which had been left behind. But, what is remarkable, the old Owl had carried no less than three young rabbits to the single young one remaining, in one night’s time, which is an evident proof what havoc they make among the game. Another particular of these vermin deserves mentioning, which is, that they seldom eat more than the fore-quarters of any animal they kill, as the cat does, and always leaves the hind quarters untouched, which are found in the nest. I have likewise caught them in moon-light evenings in steel traps, baited with a rabbit-skin stuffed, and have often killed many of them with a gun, by keeping close under the hedge, and imitating the squeaking of a mouse, when the Owl has come directly to the place, and I have shot him dead on the spot.

THE
LIGHT COLOURED BARN,
OR,
SCREECH OWL.

This kind of Owl is a very beautiful bird, of a palish brown colour, a little spotted and white on the breast, doing more good than harm, for it seldom preys on any thing but mice, which it will watch for in the barns like a cat, and destroy great numbers of that little vermin. On this account these Owls are encouraged by the farmers. If you should see one of them, mimick the squeaking of the mouse, and he will come to you directly, and you may easily shoot him, as was before observed of the Wood-Owl.

THE
HORNED OWL

Has its name from the feathers which stand up on each side of his head, resembling two horns, and making a very beautiful appearance. There are many people, who do not believe there are any Owls of this species bred amongst us; the large brown horned Owl, (which is bigger than our largest birds of prey, whether kite or buzzard) is indeed from foreign parts, and is esteemed a very great curiosity, but never breeds here, which this little Horned Owl does, and much resembles the large one, only in miniature. I have shot several of them on Windsor-Forest: they do no mischief that I could ever learn, however I thought it proper to mention them, that the reader may be assured there is such a bird existing.

THE
FERN OWL,
OR
NIGHT JAR.

This is a very harmless bird, about the size of the small Sparrow-Hawk, of a dark colour, and with a large mouth. They never go out till the evening, and then catch beetles and other insects for their sustenance.

THE
RAVEN.

This is the largest bird that feeds on carrion, and is of a fine shining colour; in some places it is very serviceable, in eating up the stinking flesh or carcases of dead beasts and other carrion, but in many other places very mischievous, and does a great deal of harm. I having been allowed as much per head for killing them as I had for kites and hawks, as they are equally pernicious in killing and devouring young rabbits, ducklings and chickens.

I know of no better way to catch them, where they become troublesome, than to set two traps for them, in the same manner as you do for the buzzard, [see plate VI. fig. 1.] and put a rat between them for a bait, but when you have taken one or two, you must move your traps to another place, or the others will prove too shy to be caught; for as soon as one is taken, great numbers will keep round him, and seeing him fast, will grow suspicious of some danger, and not come near the place any more; but by observing the above method, in moving the traps, I have caught great numbers of them in a day, though it is attended with some labour and trouble.

I have often caught the London Ravens near twenty miles from home, in warrens, where they will sometimes come after the young Rabbits; by the London Ravens I mean those that generally frequent the outskirts of the metropolis, and live upon the filth lying there, grubbing up the dirt in order to get at their food, from whence the tops of their wings become of a nasty, dusky brown colour, occasioned by their wallowing in the dirt, by which means they are easily distinguishable from the country Ravens, which are as black as jet, according to the old saying, _As black as a Raven_.

I have seen some of these Ravens sit upon a lamb, that has been dropped weak, not being able to run, when they have got to his head and picked out the creature’s eyes while yet alive. Another remark I shall make, which is to point out the difference between the manner of birds of the hawk kind carrying their prey, and those of the carrion kind. Now it is observable that buzzards, kites, hawks and owls, constantly carry their prey in their claws, whereas Ravens, carrion-crows and magpies carry their food in their beaks.

THE
CARRION
CROW.

This bird is well known, and in country places will do prodigious mischief, by destroying young rabbits, chickens and ducks, and likewise in sucking eggs, which the hens and ducks lay in the back yards or in the hedges: these the Crows will break and eat as greedily as any other vermin whatever. Now if you find they have any haunts about your house, get a steel trap, of the same kind as you use for other winged vermin; set it in the ground, quite level with the surface, and cover it with moss; then take a little piece of bush or some fern, stick some of it down, by one jaw quite low, and bring it round to the other jaw, [see plate VI. fig. 1.] put the bait, whether it be an egg, or rat, a piece of rabbit, or the guts of the same, or any thing else of this sort, in the back part, on the tail of the trap; and when you have put the little fence, before described all around, as a guide for him, he must of necessity go over the trap for the bait, and be caught; but I have been plagued with these as much as I have been with the Ravens, by being obliged to move the trap after every Crow I had taken; but by observing when one is caught, which you may easily hear, for they then make a great noise and keep flying round their imprisoned brother, almost close to the ground, you may then probably get a shoot, and kill some of them; but sometimes I have known them so shy that I could not get them to the trap at any rate. In this case you must observe the places where they most frequent, and take a cat, or a ferret, and tie it to a stake; then take a gun, and hide yourself, when the first Crow that sees the cat or ferret will make a terrible screaming noise, and bring many more, who scream and hover about till you have a fair shoot. In this manner I have had, sometimes, three or four shoots before they dispersed, and killed several of them; for when they see any kind of animal they are not used to, in the day-time, it greatly attracts their attention, and they wonder at it, as the small birds do at the sight of an owl by day-light; and this is the best way to get at the shy ones. I have seen the Crows pick out the eyes of a weak lamb, while alive, in the same manner as the ravens will.

The CUBE for WINGED VERMIN _Fig. 1._]

THE
MAGPYE.

This is a very mischievous bird, doing great damage in warrens, and much of the same nature as the crow, preying on all kinds of flesh and carrion, like that animal. They are extremely pernicious about farm-yards and houses, killing and devouring young ducks and chickens, and likewise in sucking and destroying eggs in great numbers, about farm-houses, where the hens lay them by the sides of the rickyards and under the hedges. When you find they become troublesome in the above instances, set your trap (where you observe them to come) in the same manner as you do for the crow; bait it with a rat, which is as good a bait as any, or with an egg; or if they have killed any young ducks or chickens, and have not devoured them, at that place, where you find them, set your trap, and bait it with the dead duckling or chicken, and you need not fear catching them: but be careful to observe the following rule, which is, as soon as one of the Magpyes is trapped, to take it out as soon as possible, in order to set your trap again. You may easily discover this event, for as soon as one is taken in the trap, it makes a screaming noise, which brings great numbers of these vermin together, who come hovering and flying over their captive brother, which will give you a fair opportunity of shooting among them and destroying many. This method I have often put into execution, and it has been attended with very good success.

FINIS.

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

● Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained. ● Used numbers for footnotes. ● The original did not include Plate II. ● Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. ● Enclosed blackletter font in =equals=.