MARCH. 41 



will be tempted out. His diet is a curious one, consisting as it does 

 of Eggs, young Rabbits, Fruit, Roots, Vegetables, Worms, Insects, 

 Snails, and Frogs. 



9th. The buds on my Currant bushes look like bursting very 

 shortly, and on the first warm day my Crocuses will be out in a blaze 

 of splendour. 



Nice March weather now, which, after recent wet, will dry the 

 land and prepare everything as it should be. 



The birds do not come in my garden now. That is how they 

 appreciate the care I took of them in the hard weather ! 



They are busy singing or fighting for partners, and the Rooks 

 have long since started Spring cleaning. 



A correspondent in the North writes me to-day that he recently 

 heard the Redwing singing, which he has put into the following: 

 Ta-see-see, cak-cak, chuck-a-chuck-chuck. R-see, ss-ss. 



Mr. W. A. Nicholson, of Portobello, N.B., writes to say he heard 

 the Song Thrush at Liberton, Midlothian, on January 24th. He also 

 states he saw a Water Rat pounce at a Redwing during the recent 

 severe weather, but the bird escaped. My correspondent adds that 

 Rats consume innumerable birds when the ground is frost-bound. 



10th. I see attempts are to be made to re-introduce the Great 

 Bustard into this Country from Spain. The last time an attempt was 

 made was in 1876, and this in Yorkshire and Norfolk. 



Clumps of Coltsfoot out on the railway banks. Yellow Jasmine 

 blooming. Many Gnats dancing in the sunlight. Groundsel in flower. 

 Crocuses full open to-day for the first time. Digging in the garden, 

 I found several Caterpillars hibernating about a foot below ground. 



llth. It is Sunday once again, and I must take time by 

 the forelock and be out and about fairly early. Travelling to 

 town early each day, one does not have many opportunities for 

 country rambles, but at the week-ends we may see and hear 

 much that is going on in the Natural History world. In fact, one 

 of the reasons why this little diary is written is to show how a 

 busy person, engaged in business in town during the day, may, 

 by going to work in the right manner, keep a diary and calendar 

 which shall be useful and interesting. My walk to the railway 

 station each morning takes me along the country-side for a short 

 distance, but many a time I look back with longing eyes to the 

 green meadows behind me, and hear the last faint melodies of 



