\\ Proceedinyn, 



avoiding man by their powers of flight, others, as the sparrow 

 and robin, place themselves under his somewhat treacherous 

 protection, doubtless finding the safety which they obtain from 

 their feral enemies to more than counterbalance the attacks of 

 cats and birdnesting boys. The fieldfare and redwing nest in 

 northern climes, and when visiting us in the winter feed in open 

 fields, with sentries on the alert to give warning against the 

 approach of an enemy ; while their congener, the blackbird, fre- 

 quents the neighbourhood of human habitations, and skulking 

 about gardens and hedge-bottoms manages to pick up a good 

 living even in the severest weather. A curious change of habit 

 in this respect has recently come over the wood-pigeon, which in 

 its wild state one of the wariest of birds, has become very abun- 

 dant in the London parks, where, knowing apparently that guns 

 are not permitted, it shows no more fear of man than a London 

 sparrow. Some such change of habit in a past age has enabled 

 the rook and jackdaw to flourish, while the raven and carrion 

 crow are approaching extinction. 



We must all regret the disappearance of some of the more 

 interesting plants and animals from our neighbourhood. The 

 diminution of wild birds has been recently the subject of discus- 

 sion in the local press ; the primrose has disappeared from woods 

 near Croydon where it was formerly abundant, and we must go 

 many miles afield to find any fern other than the common brake 

 in plenty. I do not think that the disappearance is due to the 

 naturalist, or even to the ordinary holiday maker, so much as to 

 the professional dealer, who collects wholesale for purposes of 

 gain. The primrose is unfortunately circumstanced in the 

 struggle for existence ; its beauty makes it in demand ; it is 

 easily found and dug up at any time of the year (not like the 

 bluebell and daffodil, which have deep underground bulbs), and 

 its dimorphic habit is unfavourable to the production of seed 

 when its numbers are reduced, since it can only be fertilised 

 when both forms of flower grow together. Whatever British 

 institutions the late Lord Beaconsfield may have helped to pre- 

 serve, I fear that he did not do much for the poor primrose. 



The draining of marshes and ponds, the ploughing up of 

 pasture, and the conversion of open fields into eligible building 

 sites, are processes which cause the disappearance of many of 

 our more interesting species of animals and plants. These we 

 cannot hope to arrest, but we can avoid rapacious collecting, or 

 encouraging dealers by purchasing from them. There is no 

 reason why plants like the primrose and ferns should not be 

 propagated by seed, or parting the roots, instead of uprooting 

 them from their native habitats. 



In geology the main features of our neighbourhood are well 

 known, but there are doubtless many details yet to be filled in, 



