38 RURAL BIRD LIFE. 



bunches of bloom, and the hawthorn assuming its snow- 

 white flowers under the soothing influence of the vernal 

 sun, I know that these flowers are the future fruit that 

 will feed the * Stormcock ' and his congeners when their 

 other food is wanting ; and I pause for a moment to 

 admire these graceful daughters of Sylva, and reflect 

 how beautifully every animate and inanimate object of 

 the creation performs its allotted task in a manner bene- 

 ficial to the great Commonwealth of Nature. 



