WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 241 



planted with osiers, and inside the hedges all round 

 the mead there is a wide, deep ditch, always full of 

 slowly moving water so that the field is really sur- 

 rounded by a double moat ; and in one corner, in addi- 

 tion, there is a pond hidden by maple thickets from 

 within, and intended for the use of cattle in the adjoin- 

 ing field. The nearest house is several meadows dis- 

 tant, and no footpath passes near, so that the spot 

 is peculiarly quiet. These mounds, hedges, osier-bed, 

 and brooks occupy an area nearly or quite equal to 

 the space where cattle can feed. 



Upon the fir tree a heron perches frequently in the 

 daytime, because from that great elevation he can 

 command an extensive view, and feels secure against 

 attack. Whenever he visits the water meadows, 

 sailing thither from the shallow lake (one of whose 

 creeks approaches the ash copse), he almost always 

 rests here before descending to the field to take a good 

 look round. The heron is a most suspicious bird : 

 when he alights in the water meadows here he stalks 

 about in the very middle of the great field, far out 

 of reach of the gun. If ever he ventures to the brook, 

 it is not till after a careful survey from the fir tree, 

 his tower of observation ; and when in the brook, his 

 long neck m is every now and then extended, that he 

 may gaze above the banks. 



By the gateway, reached by crossing a rude bridge 

 for the wagons, wild hops festoon the thickets. Be- 

 hind the maple bushes in the corner the water of the 

 pond, overhung with willow, is dark almost black 



