NORTH-WEST AND NORTH LONDON 185 



loose here, and his first efforts will be directed 

 to the rooting up of the glorious old gorse and 

 bramble bushes, and the planting of exotic 

 bushes in their place, especially the monotonous 

 rhododendron, that dreary plant the sight of 

 which oppresses us like a nightmare in almost 

 every public park and garden and open space 

 in the metropolis. 



Waterlow Park, although small, is extremely 

 interesting, and contains a good amount of 

 large well-grown timber ; it is, in fact, one of 

 the real old parks which have been spared to us 

 in London. It is indeed a beautiful and refresh- 

 ing spot, and being so small and so highly 

 popular, attracting crowds of people every day 

 throughout the summer months, it does not 

 afford a very favourable breeding-place for birds. 

 Nevertheless, the number of songsters of various 

 species is not small, for it is not as if these had 

 no place but the park to breed in ; the town in 

 this district preserves something of its rural 

 character, and the bird population of the 

 northern portion of Highgate is, like that of 

 Hampstead, abundant and varied. There is 

 also the fact to be borne in mind that Waterlow 

 Park is one of two spaces that join, the park 



