224 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 



never both leave the nest at the same time ; and the 

 male takes his turn on the eggs as well as the female. 

 They may be seen for hours, with their long bills projec- 

 ting over the edge of the nest, patiently performing this 

 duty. Nobody ever thinks of disturbing them, there or 

 elsewhere. They may be seen sometimes, three or four 

 in number, striding quietly after the husbandman, as he 

 works away with his bullocks and plough, and securing 

 for themselves a meal from the worms, which the up- 

 turned furrows expose to their view. 



' It is curious to observe the process by which the 

 storks feed their young. Each parent bird goes away in 

 turn ; and, upon its return, stands, for a few seconds, 

 balancing itself upon the edge of the nest ; then, throwing 

 back its head with a quick action, it ejects from its crop 

 into the nest some portion of worm or frog which it has 

 picked up ; and the young instantly seize upon the same 

 and devour it with avidity. This action of throwing the 

 head back and ejecting the treasured food is repeated, 

 until all the contents of the bird's crop are exhausted. 

 About the middle of September, the storks assemble in 

 large flocks, like the swallows in England, and prepare for 

 their migratory flight to warmer latitudes. 



' I have elsewhere described the manner in which the 

 Poles sometimes spear fish at night time, by the aid of 

 fire-light, which they kindle in a grate fixed at the head 

 of their boat, and need not therefore do more in this place 

 than allude to it as one of the modes to which they resort 

 for capturing fish. 



' In England I used to be very fond of fly-fishing, and 

 had brought with me a nice light rod, in the hope of 

 meeting, in the streams of this country, with trout and 

 grayling as abundant as those which I had found in some 

 of the affluents of the Rhine. But the hope was not to 

 be fulfilled. As for trout, I was informed that it is found 

 only in one stream in Lithuania. I sometimes caught a 

 few fish like grayling, but smaller and coarser, and of a 

 muddy taste. Indeed, the constant muddiness of almost 



