90 Poachers and Poaching. 



Higher up the valley, towards the hills, tracks 

 of another kind begin to appear. On the fells 

 we come across a dead herdwick, trampled 

 about with innumerable feet. We examine 

 these closely, and find that they are only of two 

 species the raven and the buzzard. Further in 

 the scrub w r e track a pine-marten to its lair in 

 the rocks. The dogs drive it from its strong- 

 hold, and, being arboreal in its habits, it 

 immediately makes up the nearest pine trunk. 

 Its rich brown fur and orange throat make it one 

 of the most lithely beautiful of British animals. 

 A pair of stoats or ermines, with their flecked 

 coats just in the transition stage, have their haunt 

 in the same wood. From the snow we see that 

 last night they have threaded the aisles of the 

 pines in search of food. This clear-cut sharp 

 track by the fence is that of a fox. 



Another fascinating aspect of nature in winter 

 are the woods. When snow-covered there is a 

 grandeur and majesty about them such as they 

 never wear at other times. The giant limbs of 

 the trees stand starkly outlined against the sky, 

 and nought but sound silence possesses the 

 aisles of plumed pines. Except the faint trickle 

 of the stream, it would seem almost as though 

 the pulse of nature had ceased to beat. Of 

 course, this only applies to the interior of 

 the woods, and the suggestion is emphasised 

 by the thick soft carpetings of pine needles 



