17 MARCH 1944, Page 14

A SPECIAL plea is being made to the Ministry of

Agriculture to revok the Rook Order, published in 1940. That order condemned the root and branch, supporting a common superstition. Now a g Hungarian farmer and ornithologist, a M. Svetozar (so far as I remember) proved conclusively that the rook was one of the greatest of benefactor and only cancelled out a part of the benefit when its numbers becam altogether excessive. In a very dry season, if their numbers are great, few rooks will take pheasants' and partridges' eggs ; but at the won they do more good than harm to crops. What damage is done in u rooting plants of young corn is very apparent, while the good they d in killing the buried insects is only an inference. Personally, I has taken particular pains to inspect corn crops after watching a visitatio of flocks of rooks, and in no case has the crop failed or been apparent'

diminished. Rooks are quite accurately described as " Nature' Insecticides," and the League for the Protection of Rooks will hat general support both from bird-lovers and economists. Farmers in som districts are more hostile to the lark—of all birds—than to the rook but here, again, the obviously tumbled plants and the scratched groun do not even limit the future yield. Perhaps the only bird that i seriously destructive on British farms is the pigeon.

Volcanic Insects Many little facts of Natural History, strange in the ears of our islande have reached us from our soldiers in North Africa and Italy. Most them concern birds ; but here is one from an entomologist. He w filled with the desire to climb Etna during the Sicilian campaign, an finally after some failures reached the upper slope of the main crate He found it inhabited by great hordes of ladybirds. What they w doing up there in such quantity he would not conjecture. Is it possib that the volcano supplies well-warmed hibernation quarter's? The beneficent insects like warmth, and doubtless for this reason are often found hibernating in our rooms.

Roman Imports Our natural historians in Italy should be able to settle an old botanic dispute that has lately been revived. In numbers of books, some them standard, it is suggested that the field elm, almost the most cornm of English trees, is not a native, but was imported by the Romans. I a told by one of our leading authorities on the home of plants that t Italian elms (which Virgil describes as props for vines) are of a wholl different variety from our field elm or, I thirk, the not uncommon Dut elm. More evidence on the subject would be of interest. On the subj of nature, it was stated the other day by an ardent naturaliser that t fallow-deer was imported. A Derbyshire digger—so to call him—te me that when working in a cave or swallow-hole many years ago found remains of fallow-deer associated with those of rhinoceros an hyena! The standard view is once again that they were imported by lb Romans, an explanation that is often too easy to be accurate.

Flowerless Road Sides A new danger to our wild flowers is feared by some of our botanis In the past farmers were in the habit of brushing their hedges a digging out and tidying their ditches when autumn was well advanc This timing gave our wild flowers, most of which are annuals or biennial a good chance to seed. The road-man followed the farmers, and ro sides have proved, not once or twice, the last home of some rarer plan For instance, this last summer a rare mullein was to be seen by the si of a very popular road in the Aldershot district. In the standard (Bentham and Hooker) no phrases are commoner than " on waysides, " on roadsides " and " on the edges of fields." Such places have b plant sanctuaries. Today the roadmen are instructed to mow the gra and trim the hedges (including honeysuckle, dog- and field-rose) duct the summer. The result has been—to quote one particular exampl the disappearance of the foxglove. It would add to the beauty of 0 roads if the road authorities correlated their activities with the sea so In the Garden The rapidly increasing practice of drying or desiccation or dehydrati is extending even to some of the larger farms, where a deal of lute and grass is dried and powdered for sale as chicken-food. The priva gardener may profitably follow the lead, at least in regard to herbs. Y can now buy from English factories such seasonings as dried mint, th, and even sage and onions, but most of the herbs are also quite ea dried at home--experto crede—and prove very useful, especially that cooks are learning the use of small amounts of herbs in various ste