CORRESPONDENCE 197 



glass of the windows, which the Nuthatches fetch 

 away. I have closely watched the manner in which 

 they take the nuts up in their bills. They seem 

 to have a little difficulty in this if the nut is large, 

 and I observe that they moisten the shell of the 

 nut plentifully with their tongues, so as to make it 

 adhesive apparently, and more safely carried. I 

 have bored holes in a log of wood and placed nuts 

 therein, also almonds. Sometimes these are broken 

 and eaten on the spot, but more often carried away 

 or buried on the lawn. Numbers of young nut- 

 trees are growing in my garden, evidently planted 

 by them. I once saw a Nuthatch, after burying a 

 nut, bring a fallen leaf and fix it over the spot, 

 probably as a mark. 



" Some months ago a member of my family saw 

 a rat on the lawn ' stalking' a Blackbird. At last 

 it sprang on the back of the bird and killed it by 

 biting it on the head." 



Sad to say, a large class of the letters which 

 reached him had tales of cruelty to unfold in 

 various shapes and forms ; for correspondents knew 

 that they would find in him a ready sympathiser, 

 and never did he turn a deaf ear to any appeal 

 of this kind that was made to him. He always 

 took action upon it, and that promptly, in some 

 way or other. 



The letter which I will next quote is an example 

 of many more of a similar kind that he received. 

 It came from a correspondent of many years' 

 standing, and had to do with the suppression 



