The Open Air 



this butterfly would be prized! Along the hedge- 

 row there are several spiders' webs. In the centre 

 they are drawn inwards, forming a funnel, which 

 goes back a few inches into the hedge, and at the 

 bottom of this the spider waits. If you look down 

 the funnel you see his claws at the bottom, ready to 

 run up and seize a fly. 



Sitting in the garden after a walk, it is pleasant to 

 watch the eave-swallows feeding their young on the 

 wing. The young bird follows the old one ; then they 

 face each other and stay a moment in the air, while 

 the insect food is transferred from beak to beak; with 

 a loud note they part. There was a constant warfare 

 between the eave-swallows and the sparrows frequent- 

 ing a house where I was staying during the early part 

 of the summer. The sparrows strove their utmost to 

 get possession of the nests the swallows built, and 

 there was no peace between them. It is common 

 enough for one or two swallows' nests to be attacked 

 in this way, but here every nest along the eaves was 

 fought for, and the sparrows succeeded' in conquering 

 many of them. The driven-out swallows after a while 

 began to build again, and I noticed that more than a 

 pair seemed to work at the same nest. One nest was 

 worked at by four swallows; often all four came 

 together and twittered at it. 



