vin RIVERSIDE LETTERS 65 



fine. Make this about the consistency of 

 pap, feed every two or three hours, of all 

 things early in the morning. With almost 

 all descriptions of small birds (other than 

 thrushes) the oatmeal and biscuit alone ; food 

 fresh every day." He says, " With regard 

 to robins, I have observed that they fre- 

 quently, after nesting, leave the old quarters 

 and are not seen for three or four months, 

 but are sure to return as winter approaches, 

 that is to say, the one seldom two old birds 

 never more." He also adds as to what I 

 said of mushrooms (Letter XIII.) : " I assure 

 you the farmer's account to you of the pro- 

 duction of mushrooms was no matter of 

 superstition, but, I have no doubt, a matter of 

 fact. But an even surer way of getting 

 mushroom-spawn, would be to have an entire 

 horse in your stable for a week or a fortnight, 

 and put clown in his bed some old rotten 

 sacking, and leave it to be saturated ; the 



o * 



more rotten the better, then make up your 

 mushroom bed, and I venture to say that you 



F 



