262 RIVERBY 



plays her part, rarely moving, till she suddenly bursts 

 up before you, and is gone in a twinkling! How 

 well her young are disciplined always to take their 

 cue from her! Not one will stir till she gives the 

 signal. 



One day in my walk, as I paused on the side of a 

 steep hill in the edge of the woods, my eye chanced 

 to fall upon a partridge, sitting upon the leaves be- 

 side a stump scarcely three paces from me. "Can 

 she have a nest there 1 " was my first thought. 

 Then I remembered it was late in the summer, and 

 she certainly could not be incubating. Then why 

 is she sitting there in that exposed manner 1 Keep- 

 ing my eye upon her, I took a step forward, when, 

 quick as a flash, she sprang into the air and went 

 humming away. At the same moment, all about 

 me, almost from under my feet, her 'nearly grown 

 young sprang up and went booming through the 

 woods after her. Not one of them had moved or 



i 



showed fear till their mother gave the word. 



To observe Nature and know her secrets, one 

 needs not only a sharp eye, but a steady and patient 

 eye. You must look again and again, and not be 

 misled by appearances. All the misinformation 

 about the objects and phenomena of nature afloat 

 among country people is the result of hasty and in- 

 complete observation. 



In parts of the country where wheat is grown 

 there is quite a prevalent belief among the farmers 

 that if the land is poor or neglected the wheat will 

 turn into chess or cheat grass. Have they not seen 



