186 FRESH FIELDS 



plants, and probably so with the animals. Thus, 

 the chimney swallows give up the hollow trees for 

 the chimneys, the cliff swallows desert the cliffs 

 for the eaves of the barns, the squirrels find they 

 can live in and about the fields, etc. In my own 

 locality, our native mice are becoming much more 

 numerous about the buildings than formerly; in 

 the older settled portions of the country, the flying 

 squirrel often breeds in the houses; the wolf does 

 not seem to let go in the West as readily as he did 

 in the East ; the black bear is coming back to parts 

 of the country where it had not been seen for thirty 

 years. 



I noticed many traits among the British animals 

 and birds that looked like the result both of the 

 sharp competition going on among themselves in 

 their crowded ranks and of association with man. 

 Thus, the partridge not only covers her nest, but 

 carefully arranges the grass about it so that no mark 

 of her track to and fro can be seen. The field 

 mouse lays up a store of grain in its den in the 

 ground, and then stops up the entrance from within. 

 The woodcock, when disturbed, flies away with one 

 of her young snatched up between her legs, and 

 returns for another and another. The sea-gulls 

 devour the grain in the fields ; the wild ducks feed 

 upon the oats; the crows and jackdaws pull up the 

 sprouts of the newly-planted potatoes; the grouse, 

 partridges, pigeons, fieldfares, etc., attack the tur- 

 nips; the hawk frequently snatches the wounded 

 game from under the gun of the sportsman; the 



