tics of abandoned buildings, or
similar places which they seek out for roosting purposes. Some years
ago the naturalist, Dr. A. K. Fisher, discovered that a pair of Barn
Owls had taken up their abode in one of the towers {115} of the
Smithsonion Institution building. He found the floor thickly strewn
with pellets composed of bones and fur which these birds and their
young had disgorged. He collected two hundred of these {116} and took
them to his laboratory. A painstaking examination showed that they
contained four hundred and fifty-three skulls. Here is his list made
out at the time: two hundred and twenty-five meadow mice, two pine
mice, twenty shrews, one star-nosed mole, and one Vesper Sparrow. It
is plain to be seen that great good was accomplished in the community
by this pair of Owls and their young, for the evil effects of the
rodents in life must have far overbalanced the good service of the one
useful Vesper Sparrow.

_A Seldom Recognised Blessing._--There are some large predatory birds
which destroy the lives of many game birds and others of the weaker
species. On game farms, therefore, an unpleasant but necessary task is
the shooting or trapping of Hawks and Owls. At first thought it might
seem best to wage a war of absolute extermination on these offenders,
and some game-keepers urge that this should be done. Personally I am
opposed to any such course of action, one reason being that this would
not {117} necessarily forward the best interests of the game birds it
is desired to serve. So important and yet so unexpected is the
ultimate effect of the activities of predatory creatures that in a
state of nature I am convinced the supply of game birds is increased
rather than decreased by being preyed upon. Like all other creatures,
birds are subject to sickness and disease, but by the laws of nature it
appears that they are not designed to suffer long. Their quick removal
is advisable if they are to be prevented from spreading contagion among
their fellows, or breeding and passing on their weakness to their
offspring. Sometimes the Hawk, dashing at a covey of game birds, may
capture one of its strongest and healthiest members, but the chances
are that the afflicted member, which is not so quick on the rise or is
a little slower on the wing, is the one to be taken. Just as some
savages are said to put to death the incompetent and unfit, so do the
laws operate which govern wild life. If, therefore,