THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 305 



observation tends to prove that Nature will, in all ordi- 

 nary cases, preserve her own balance ; but that when 

 man alters the conditions he must ever be watchful of 

 his experiment, or run a risk of ignominious failure. In 

 the present instance the wall affords no bar to the in- 

 grees or egress of the feathered race, who are thereby 

 restored as nearly as possible to their original state of 

 freedom, and are enabled to build their nests and 

 forage for their young without the interruptions which 

 would check them in any other part of England. The 

 result is that although a vast number of species con- 

 gregate within the domain — enough, according to the 

 popular prejudices, to devastate the gardens, destroy 

 the crops, and kill all the game — there are few places 

 where crops, fruit, and flowers are so luxuriantly abun- 

 dant, or where the game is more plentiful. 



Not so, however, with the wingless creatures that 

 are enclosed within its limits. Being imable to pass 

 the wall, they are in fact prisoners ; their conditions 

 have been altered, and they are no longer able to pre- 

 serve the rightful balance of Nature, so that man, who 

 has interfered with the regular course of events and 

 deprived the creatures of their liberty, is forced to 

 accommodate himself to the altered circumstances, or 

 take the consequences of his intrusion. 



For example, of all laws to be observed in this little 

 kingdom, the most stringent was that no fire-arms 

 should be discharged within the walls — a needful and 

 thoughtful regulation, as nothing alarms birds so 



