. SOUTH-EAST LONDON 221 



fresher and prettier aspect than the other. It- 

 resembles Highbury Fields more than any other 

 open space, but is better laid out and planted 

 than the miniature North London park. Indeed, 

 Kennington Park is a surprise when first seen, as 

 it actually has larger and better-grown shrubberies 

 than several of the big parks. The shrubberies 

 extend well all around the grounds, and have 

 an exceptionally fine appearance on account of 

 the abundance of holly, the most beautiful of 

 our evergreens. With such a vegetation it is 

 not surprising to find that this small green spot 

 can show a goodly number of songsters. The 

 blackbird, thrush, hedge-sparrow, and robin are 

 here ; but it is hard for these birds to rear their 

 broods, in the case of the robin impossible I 

 should say, on account of the Kennington cats. 

 Here, as in the neighbourhood of the other open 

 spaces in London, the evening cry of ' All out ! ' 

 is to them an invitation to come in. 



Two things are needed to make Kennington 

 Park everything that so small a space might and 

 should be : one is the effectual exclusion of the 

 cats, which at present keep down the best 

 songsters ; the other, a small pond or two 

 planted with rushes to attract the moorhens, and 



