asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the rook-killing battues now being organised on the advice of his Department, he will have the crops of a selected number of birds examined to ascertain whether their diet is mainly corn or insects?

Many investigations into the food of rooks have been carried out in the past, and it is known that these birds devour large numbers of insect pests and weed seeds and to this extent are of benefit to agriculture. On the other hand, rooks also eat an appreciable quantity of cereals, and the Rooks Order, 1940, was made to enable county war agricultural executive committees to require the owner of any rookery to reduce the number of rooks if it appears to the committee that they cause, or are likely to cause, injury to crops. Committees have been instructed to satisfy themselves before taking action under the Order, that the rooks in any rookery are, on balance, injurious to crops.