WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 179 



courageous, and, as one might say, manly in their 

 character. 



The bark of some of the apple trees peels of itself 

 that is, the thin outer skin and insects creep under 

 these brown scales curled at the edges. If you sit 

 down on the elm butt placed here as a seat and watch 

 quietly, before long the little tree-climber will come. 

 He flies to the trunk of the apple tree (other birds 

 fly to the branches), and then proceeds to ascend it, 

 going round it as he rises in a spiral. His claws cling 

 tenaciously to the bark, his tail touches the tree, and 

 seems to act as a support like what I think the car- 

 penters call a " knee " and his head is thrown back 

 so as to enable him to spy into every cranny he passes. 

 After a few turns round the trunk he is off to another 

 tree, to resume the same restless spiral ascent there ; 

 and in a minute or so off again to a third : for he never, 

 apparently, examines one-half of the trunk, though 

 probably his eyes, accustomed to the work, see far- 

 ther than we may imagine. The orchard is never long 

 without a tree-climber ; it seems a favourite resort 

 of these birds. They have a habit of rushing quickly 

 a little way up ; then pausing, and again creeping 

 swiftly another foot or so, and are so absorbed in their 

 pursuit that they are easily approached and observed. 



Who can stay indoors when the goldfinches are 

 busy among the bloom on the apple trees ? A flood 

 of sunshine falling through a roof of rosy pink and 

 delicate white blossom overhead ; underneath, grass 

 deeply green with the vigour of spring, dotted with 



