JULY 



IN a Jacket of light Yellow, eating Cherries; with 

 his Face and Bosom Sun-burnt; on his Head a 

 wreath of Centaury and wild Tyme ; a Scythe on his 

 shoulder, and a bottle at his girdle: carrying the sign 

 Leo. 



THE DOG-DAYS 



WITH July and the dog-days the midsummer hush falls 

 on the birds. But some voices which have 

 Hot July been somewhat drowned in the early 

 summer chorus attract the ear once more, 

 notably the twofold call of the chiffchaff; it sings its 

 best, indeed, in July. Bird-life is more abundant now 

 than at any time of the year, and every hedge is full of 

 strange notes uttered by the young birds. These are 

 great days of hunting for hedge- vermin, and for the 

 sparrow-hawk. All too often we hear sorrowful plaints 

 from bereaved bird-parents, echoing the feeling in 

 Macduff's tragic words, " All my pretty ones O hell- 

 kite ! all at one fell swoop ! " 



8? 



