164 SAND MARTINS AT WEYBRIDGE. [PART II. 



birds, he exclaimed, " My G , what a lot of Par- 

 rots!" The prize was immediately voted to him 

 by acclamation. 



Whilst waiting for the train one afternoon at 

 Weybridge, I amused myself with watching the 

 Sand Martins, who have there a large establish- 

 ment on either side of the cutting, and got into 

 conversation with one of the porters about them. 

 On my saying, I supposed that the boys robbed a 

 good many of the nests, he answered, " Oh ! Sir, 

 they would if they was allowed, but the birds are 

 such good friends to us, that we won't let any body 

 meddle with them." I fancied at first that he 

 spoke of them as friends in the way of company 

 only, but he explained his meaning to be that the 

 flies about the station would be quite intolerable 

 if they were not cleared off by the Martins, which 

 are always hawking up and down in front of it ; 

 adding that even during the few hot days which 

 occurred in the spring before their arrival, the 

 flies were becoming very troublesome. "Now," 

 he said, (( we may now and then see one, but that 

 is all." 



It was a bright sunny day in July, and the 

 scene was a very lively and interesting one. The 

 mouths of the holes on both sides of the cutting 



