188 FIELD NOTES FOR THE YEAR. 



strong and large heather in which -blackcocks roost cannot be 

 walked over quietly and comfortably by an animal whose legs 

 are so ^short as those of a fox. The grey hens stand a much 

 worse chance. Led by their maternal instinct to build their 

 nests near the edges of the smoother grounds, where their 

 young, when hatched, can run about, they are so much ex- 

 posed to the attack of the foxes, that scarcely one is left, and 

 before long the breed in this part of the country will be quite 

 worn out. 



Up to his knees in a swamp stands a beautiful roebuck, 

 feeding quickly and hungrily on the coarse grasses which 

 grow there : whilst half way up the brae, a doe and her fawn 

 are nibbling the faded leaves off a wild-rose bush. By a 

 little management I could easily get within thirty yards of 

 them, but I prefer watching them a little while with my 

 glass. The buck has got the wind of me now, and starting 

 up, looks quickly round, and then bounds up the steep brae 

 to where the doe and fawn are standing, and after the whole 

 party have halted on the top for a minute to reconnoitre me, 

 they all bound off again into the densest part of the thicket. 



As I approach home, and the evening conies on, different 

 small flocks of wild ducks pass with whistling pinion over 

 my head, on their way to some well-known stubble. The 

 barley fields appear to be their favourite feeding ground at 

 this season, probably because there is always more barley 

 left on the ground than any other kind of grain. 



The ferryman at the river where I pass tells me that he 

 "is thinking that I have had a long travel, but that I have 

 not got much ven-ni-son" In both surmises he is not far 

 wrong, but I have enjoyed my long and rough walk as 

 much ay, and much more than I should have done the 

 best battue in Norfolk, or the best day's grouse shooting 

 in Perthshire. But it is time I should finish my chapter ; we 

 all become prosy when talking of our favourite pursuits. 



" Navita de ventis, cle tauris narrat arator, 

 Enumerat miles vulnera, pastor oves : " 



And when I once get fairly launched on the subject of wild 

 ducks and roebucks, mountains and Hoods, the honest truth 

 is that I know not when to stop, and must, I fear, frequently 

 exhaust the patience of the most indulgent reader. 



