NO GAP IN NATURE. 87 



LETTER VIIL 



"Nature to them, without profusio7i, kmd, 

 The proper organs, proper power assig-ned ; 

 Each seeming' want compensated of course, 

 Here with degrees of swiftness, there of force ; 

 Ail in exact proportion to their state, 

 Notliing- to add, and notliing to abate." 



Pope. 



jSTo Gap in Nature — Harriers — Variety of Plumage — 

 Different Species — Examples in Sussex — Owls — 

 Eagle-owl — Living Collection at Arundel Castle — 

 Donjon-keep — Breeding in Confinement — Pri- 

 soners at large — Tawny or Wood Owl — Gradual 

 Disappearance — Utilitarian Spirit antagonistic to 

 tlie Picturesque — Ivy unjustly condemned — Short- 

 eared Owl — Scops-eared Owl — Occurrence in the 

 County — White, or Barn Owl — Innocence vindi- 

 cated — The Sanctuary — Bites of Hospitality. 



How truly it may be said that there is no gap 

 ill Nature ! To the general student of Natural 

 History this fact is beautifully displayed at every 

 step ; but even in the comparatively limited 

 sphere of British Ornithology, we have ample 

 opportunities of observing how close is the affi- 



