IN MY LADY'S GARDEN 



changed his speckled brown nest feathers, and has attained 

 to the dignity of a scarlet waistcoat edged with delicate 

 grey, he is able to hold his own in a stand up fight with 

 another bird. 



This arrangement of Nature, by which every part of the 

 land is divided up into little kingdoms, each reigned over in 

 winter by its special robin, is no doubt most beneficial ; and 

 although the conduct of the cock robin in driving away 

 his progeny in autumn with beak and claws may at first 

 sight seem cruel, yet if they all kept together in winter 

 many of them must necessarily be starved ; and at the same 

 time the caterpillars and grubs in outlying districts would 

 seriously increase and multiply. As it is, the piece of 

 ground assigned to each robin is most assiduously searched 

 every day for food, and it is wonderful to see the quick- 

 ness with which the bird detects the lurking caterpillar in 

 the curled leaf, or the worm which has come to the surface 

 of the grass only for a moment. But no doubt many birds 

 prefer the neighbourhood of a human habitation in winter ; 

 in fact, the birds in my garden go further, and fly into the 

 room for food in the early morning, when frost holds the 

 ground and they are specially hungry, feeding from the 

 hand without fear. Robins, chaffinches, and the lovely little 

 blue titmouse are amongst the tamest of them, and very 

 pleasant little pensioners they are. Most of them have been 

 tamed while very young, and have therefore never learned 

 to be afraid of mankind ; and Rags who is one of Ruby's 

 last brood naturally takes his tone from his mother, who is 

 quite fearless. Her mate is tame enough to feed constantly 

 from the hand in summer (when he is really a pattern parent 

 in working from morning to night in order to supply his 

 numerous progeny, as well as his wife, with food) ; but as 

 soon as his labours are over and he no longer needs help, he 

 forgets his pretty manners, and gives himself up to ill- 

 temper and the work of chasing his children out of the 

 garden. He separates from his wife (although he keeps a 

 sharp eye upon her from his nut bushes), who resides in the 

 trees at the bottom of the lawn ; but she is often to be 



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