220 NATURE NEAR LONDON. 



THE SOUTHDOWN SHEPHERD. 



The shepherd came down the hill carrying his great- 

 coat slung at his back upon his crook, and balanced 

 by the long handle projecting in front. He was very 

 ready and pleased to show his crook, which, however, 

 was not so symmetrical in shape as those which are 

 represented upon canvas. Nor was the handle 

 straight; it was a rough stick the first, evidently, 

 that had come to hand. 



As there were no hedges or copses near his walks, 

 he had to be content with this bent wand till he could 

 get a better. The iron crook itself he said was 

 made by a blacksmith in a village below. A good 

 crook was often made from the barrel of an old single- 

 barrel gun, such as in their decadence are turned over 

 to the birdkeepers. 



About a foot of the barrel being sawn off at the 

 muzzle end, there was a tube at once to fit the staff 

 into, while the crook was formed by hammering the 

 tough metal into a curve upon the anvil. So the gun 

 the very symbol of destruction was beaten into the 

 pastoral crook, the emblem and implement of peace. 

 These crooks of village workmanship are now subject 

 to competition from the numbers offered for sale at 



