Hedgerow Life 
ig the work of the field-mice. These 
creatures use the abandoned nests of 
the birds as dining-rooms, in which to 
sit and nibble the scarlet hips which in 
the early days of winter have helped to 
make such a blaze of colour after the 
autumnal fall of the leaves. These, 
though they have indeed left the hedges 
bare, have covered the ground with a 
carpet of many colours—yellow, green, 
gold, russet, and even scarlet. The 
wintry winds have now scattered this 
carpet of fallen leaves, and they are 
dispersed in every direction. Some are 
still clogging up the deeper hollows in 
the ditches and banks, and serve to keep 
the hedgehog warm when tucked away 
for his winter’s sleep. And of the 
berries—hips and haws, service and 
privet-—of which there was such an 
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