THE COUNTRY LIFE. 231 



them one, two, or three at a time to the pigs 

 in the stye as a bonne bouche and an encourage- 

 ment to fatten well. Never was there such a 

 bird to eat as the wood-pigeon. Pheasants 

 roam out from the preserves after the same 

 fruit, and no arts can retain them at acorn 

 time. Swine are let run out about the hedge- 

 rows to help themselves. Mice pick up the 

 acorns that fall, and hide them for winter use, 

 and squirrels select the best. 



" If there is a decaying bough, or, more 

 particularly, one that has been sawn off, it 

 slowly decays into a hollow, and will remain 

 in that state for years, the resort of endless 

 woodlice, snapped up by insect-eating birds. 

 Down from the branches in spring there 

 descend long, slender threads, like gossamer, 

 with a caterpillar at the end of each the 

 in sect- eating birds decimate these. So that 

 in various ways the oaks give more food to 

 the birds than any other tree. Where there 

 are oaks there are sure to be plenty of birds." 



After reading this, turn to the following, 

 in quite a different style, from the same 



