The hen bird, thinking the coast clear, will descend to her nest within a few minutes; but as she will make many evolutions in the air above the nest, so as thoroughly to inspect the contiguous ground before she ventures to settle near the nest, the keeper must exercise every caution, and be prompt in availing himself of the first fair chance. If he succeed in killing the hen bird, and is not subsequently equally successful with the cock, the latter will most probably leave the ground, and will only return immediately in the event of his finding another female; but should he fail in this respect, he may not be visible till the ensuing spring, when he will be accompanied by another hen bird. As the hen harriers build on the ground, they may be either shot or trapped early in the breeding season; but, as I have before insisted, the sooner the better, as each day's delay involves a serious loss of game, especially after the young hawks are hatched, and require food. I know an instance of seven young grouse, as I have mentioned elsewhere, being found in a hen harrier's nest, after the keeper had killed one of the old birds; the young hawks were fledged at the time, as it happened to be late in the season when this nest was found. My opinion as to the policy of killing the hen bird immediately you can do so, is confirmed by each succeeding year's experience. I have recently killed four female hawks from the nest, one of them a falcon; the four were either laying their eggs or sitting upon them, I could not tell which, as the places selected for their nests were altogether inaccessible, being in high, rugged, precipitous rocks. A fortnight has elapsed since my killing them, and I have been constantly on the hills in the immediate vicinity of the nests, but not one of the cock birds has since been visible; from which fact I think it may be fairly inferred they have left the ground, not having found hen birds. It is now in the beginning of the month of May: the cock birds may return again with female birds this season; but they have rarely done so on any previous year of my experience, as far as I have been able to judge, after any long interval, till the following breeding season; and as I have been constantly on the same ground both winter and summer during the last three years, it is possible I may not be mistaken. If this be the case, the argument in favour of the immediate destruction of the female will preponderate over that urged in behalf of leaving the nest unmolested till the young birds are fledged, with the chance of trapping both the old birds; for, even admitting this method to be generally successful, I presume it is not invariably a certainty. A A But what is an infallible certainty connected with this plan, is a vast sacrifice of game, and at the most important season of the year, just when birds are breeding; so that the loss may be estimated, when hen-harriers and falcons are left to breed, not by single birds, but by coveys; and as the young birds would not be fledged for three weeks or a month from the time when the first opportunity of killing the hen bird at the nest might have presented itself, those only who are cognisant of the destructiveness of these hawks can form an accurate estimate of the extent of the loss during this interval. LONDON NEW-STREET SQUARE The Dead Shot, or Sportsman's Complete Guide; A Treatise on the Use of the Gun, Dog-breaking, Pigeon-Shooting, &c. By MARKSMAN. Fcp. with Plates, 5s. Colonel Hawker's Instructions to Young Sportsmen in all that relates to Guns and Shooting. Revised by the Author's SON. Square crown 8vo. with Illustrations, 18s. Encyclopædia of Rural Sports; A Complete Account, Historical, Practical, and Descriptive, of Hunting, Shooting, Fishing, Racing, &c. By D. P. BLAINE. With above 600 Woodcuts (20 from Designs by JOHN LEECH). 8vo. 42s. The Dog in Health and Disease. By STONEHENGE. With 70 Wood Engravings. Square crown 8vo. 15s. The Greyhound in 1864; Being the Second Edition of a Treatise on the Art of Breeding, Rearing, and Training Greyhounds. By STONEHENGE. With numerous Portraits of Greyhounds, &c. on Wood, and a Frontispiece. Square crown 8vo. 21s. The Cricket Field, Or the History and the Science of the Game of Cricket. By JAMES PYCROFT, B.A. Trin, Coll. Oxon. Fourth Edition. Fcp. 5s. The Cricket Tutor, A Treatise exclusively Practical. By the same Author. 18mo. 1s. Cricketana. By the same Author. With Portraits on Wood of E. Grace, W. Lillywhite, T. Lockyer, H. H. Stephenson, Caffyn, Hayward, and Carpenter. Fcp. 58. Short Whist. By MAJOR A. Sixteenth Edition, newly and completely revised; with an Essay on the Theory of the Modern Scientific Game by Professor P. and a new Frontispiece. Fcp. 8vo. 3s. 6d. The Handbook of Dining; Or, Corpulency and Leanness Scientifically Considered. By BRILLATSAVARIN, Author of Physiologie du Goût.' Translated by L. F. SIMPSON. Second Edition, revised, with two additional Chapters. Fcp. 3s. 6d. Wine, The Vine, and The Cellar. By THOMAS GEORGE SHAW. Second Edition, revised and enlarged; with a new Frontispiece representing the Vintage, and 31 other Illustrations. 8vo. 16s. London: LONGMANS, GREEN, and CO. Paternoster Row. Revised Edition, in 1 vol. 8vo. price 10s. 6d. cloth, THE HORSE, INCLUDING A TREATISE ON DRAUGHT. By WILLIAM YOUATT. With numerous Woodcut Illustrations, chiefly from Designs by W. Harvey. REVISED AND ENLARGED BY E. N. GABRIEL, M.R.C.S. C.V.S. SECRETARY TO ROYAL COLLEGE OF VETERINARY SURGEONS. YOUATT's work, admitted to be the best and most complete practical treatise on the Horse, was originally produced under the superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, and subsequently published by Messrs. LONGMANS and Co. by assignment of C. KNIGHT. The edition now advertised was carefully and thoroughly revised by Mr. GABRIEL, and brought up to a level with the state of the veterinary art. Amongst numerous other additions, an account is given of Mr. RAREY's method of horse-breaking; also a new set of illustrations of the age of the horse as indicated by his teeth. Purchasers should order Messrs. LONGMAN's and Co.'s edition of Youatt on the Horse, which, besides the abovementioned improvements, includes also the Author's latest corrections, &c. added to the second edition. THERE is a freshness and vigour in Mr. GABRIEL's style which we feel certain will prove acceptable to those who read works on this subject: it is so different from the dry, technical contents of most veterinary works, that the reader is not only instructed and amused, but is impressed as he proceeds with sentiments of admiration for one of the most useful of God's creatures. YOUATT'S Work on the horse is one of those few books which can be read over and over again with delight and interest. To many persons who are owners of horses, it will prove an espe cial boon for in its pages will be found much that is instructive and profitable. The treatise on draught will be especially interesting to farmers and con tractors; who, by adopting the Author's advice, may effect a considerable saving in horse power. The illustrations rank among the best we have ever seen. There are comparatively few artists who can draw a life-like portrait of the horse-indeed we think it all but impossible for an artist to excel in this particular branch unless he has himself well studied the anatomy and natural history of this noble animal; but here we have the various breeds, as well as the portraits of very many of our most celebrated thorough-breds, rendered with a fidelity as striking as it is instructive and beautiful. The work we unhesitatingly pronounce one of the best and most comprehensive we have ever read on the subject of the horse.' SPORTING LIFE. YOUATT on the DOG, 8vo. Woodcuts, 6s. may also be had. London: LONGMANS, GREEN, and CO. Paternoster Row. |