ests, resembling at
times the last struggling scream of a person being throttled. Owls will
eat raw meat, but their favourite food consists in young mice, and they
may often be seen at twilight, hunting like sporting dogs round the
meadow paths for field-mice which come out at that hour, and going back
every five minutes or so to their nests, to see that all is well at
home.

If by chance an owl appears in daylight, he is immediately attacked by
all the smaller birds, who know their enemy, and feel pleasure in
insulting him when he cannot revenge himself. For the owl grows so
confused if he lingers abroad till the sun has risen, that he cannot
find his way back to his nest, nor make head against his pursuers, as he
would soon do in the dim twilight. Bird fanciers have been known to take
advantage of this circumstance in Italy, and tying an owl to a tree in
daylight, they lime all the surrounding branches. Troops of little birds
soon find out their helpless foe, and hurrying to attack him with their
little beaks and claws, they perch on the limed twigs, and are taken by
scores.

The Snowy Owl inhabits the north of Europe, but is sometimes seen in
more southern regions. It pursues hares, of which it is particularly
fond, and often snatches fish from the water, over which it slowly
sails, with a sudden grasp of its foot. It often also accompanies
sportsmen, that it may share in the sport. In winter, when this owl is
fat, the Indians esteem the Snowy owl to be good eating. Its flesh is
delicately white.

THE GOOSE.

Have you not often heard people say "as silly as a goose"? Now I am
going to tell you that the goose is one of the most sensible birds we
know, and not only sensible, but very affectionate, and exceedingly
useful to man. I will tell you some stories of Mrs. Goose presently,
which will show you her real character. But I must begin with her uses.
The goose is to be found in almost every country, and its flesh is very
good eating; but it is principally for its feathers and quills that it
is valued here. The quills, from which our pens, and in part our paint
brushes, are made, are plucked from the pinions of the goose, and the
best featherbeds and pillows are stuffed with her feathers. Geese
love water and marshy places, and Lincolnshire, which is a fenny place,
is famous for breeding them. People there make it their business to keep
perhaps as many as a thousand geese, which, in the course of a year,