THE BARROW IN THE WOOD 



stakes of hard wood may have loosened the soil, 

 and the bare hands been used for shovelling out 

 and for piling up the mounds and banks. If so, 

 man in those days burrowed like the very badger 

 of these hills and hollows. 



Finches and Wrens 



Among small birds which have of late years 

 grown in numbers in England are red linnets, gold- 

 finches, and wrens. Goldfinches, if rare in some 

 counties, are now really abundant in others. I often 

 visit one district where the goldfinch is more abun- 

 dant than the chaffinch, and much more so than the 

 bullfinch, though neither of these is scarce. On 

 commons where the goldfinch was a rare bird twenty 

 years ago we can see a party of twenty or more any 

 winter day. The goldfinch parties are feeding on 

 such seeds of the rag-wort as are left on the dead 

 and dry flower heads, and on seeds of dwarf and 

 other thistles. The goldfinch might be far more 

 abundant, yet nothing could take from it the look of 

 distinction. One must always stop to watch gold- 

 finches where one might pass by any other finch. 

 Their ways have such a refinement ; the song of the 

 goldfinch, its flock twitter, dancing flight from 

 thistle tuft to thistle tuft, perch and balance on the 

 slenderest stems of plants, gold-barred and red 

 plumage each is so charming. Comparatively 

 but only comparatively the other familiar English 

 finches are coarse ; the goldfinch is the fine-finch. 



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