FAMILY PARTIES 257 



haunts. Along the valley of the Ouse, twenty years ago, 

 you were seldom out of hearing of the cicala-like call of the 

 corncrake, mingling strangely with the chatter of the reed 

 bunting and the rustle of the reeds. It is now an event if 

 you hear it. Probably its disappearance is due to closer 

 agriculture. One hopes, at any rate, it is not due to the 

 dictum of a famous gourmet, that it is the best bird that 

 comes to table. And one may expect a return both of quail 

 and corncrake. A distinct revival of the corncrake was noticed 

 in Surrey, where several nests were found and protected 

 in 191 1. It is a stalwart hope that under proper protection 

 quantities of our vanished birds, from the bittern to the quail, 

 will adapt themselves to new conditions and flourish again 

 almost as they flourished in the days of Hereward the Wake. 



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