HARVEST AND GLEANING TIME 161 



streams could not boast of a single king- 

 fisher. 



The corncrake or landrail is thinking about 

 making a shift ; for, now the meadows are close 

 cropped and the corn is falling, the cover is 

 not quite thick enough to suit him. He gets 

 flushed too often, and as the bird is excellent 

 eating, he is not only flushed but shot. 



The Italians have a proverb that no fox is so 

 cunning but that the furrier gets his skin at last. 

 So it turns out with respect to the landrail, 

 skulker and hideling though he be. Harvest- 

 time does not suit him ; indeed, when the corn 

 is cut, bird-life is more or less on the move. 



Pheasants, partridges, pigeons, rooks, starlings, 

 finches, and sparrows are particularly busy, for 

 they have a fair field to forage in. Mice, frogs, 

 beetles, and other creeping and crawling crea- 

 tures are there for them to feed on, let alone 

 the scattered grains. Birds that are shot at 

 this time, if their crops are opened, will be 

 found to have less corn than other matters in 

 them. Insect- feeders change their diet very fre- 

 quently. When the currants are ripe, especially 

 the finer kinds that are netted over to keep them 

 for the table, harsh measures have to be used 



to protect the fruit, although the currant-bushes 



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