294 OUT OF DOORS. 



Mead, hill and dale, have been laid out to suit the 

 idiosyncrasies of various species ; and trees of different 

 kinds have been planted in clumps, rows, or in solitary 

 state, to attract the birds that love such localities. 



A large lake studded with islands and surrounded 

 by simple meadow land, drooping willows, or thick 

 woods, has been given up to the aquatic members of 

 the feathered tribes, and rapid babbling brooks are 

 at the service of those birds which need the running 

 stream. An ancient ivy-covered gateway upon the 

 borders of the lake has been altered for the benefit 

 of the feathered race, and in a single season seven 

 pairs of jackdaws, twenty-four pair of starlings, four 

 pairs of ringdoves, a pair of owls, together with smaller 

 birds, such as blackbills, redbreasts, redstarts, sparrows, 

 and chaffinches, have built their nests in the same old 

 tower, within a few feet of each other, and without 

 attempting to quarrel. 



In order to exclude human and quadrupedal 

 enemies, a lofty wall has been built in the manner of 

 a ring fence, surrounding about 260 acres of ground, 

 having the lake in the centre and the house upon an 

 island in the lake. A large telescope is mounted in a 

 room which commands the whole lake and a consider- 

 able portion of the grounds, so that the most distant 

 birds can be watched as perfectly as if they were close 

 at hand. The wall was finished in 1826, and imme- 

 diately upon its completion the herons came and built in 

 the park. These beautiful birds absolutely swarm in the 



