212 



MY LIFE AS A NATURALIST 



so many wild creatures tenant my little plot, and bring joy 

 unto my heart. 



In some extraordinary way Wild Rabbits manage to get into 

 the garden underneath the wire fence (put up to keep Rabbits 

 and Dogs at bay !), but they only come occasionally, and fortun- 

 ately restrict attention to the luscious clover which I sowed on 



my lawn so as to ensure 

 \ some amount of moisture 



(and greenery) in dry 

 weather, when the grass 

 becomes scorched. It is 

 the best dry-weather plant 

 with which I am acquainted, 

 and can be strongly re- 

 commended to those whose 

 lawn has been made upon 

 dry soil, such as, after 

 burning, mine has proved 

 to be. 



My stock of Earthworms 

 is increasing now that the 

 burnt earth has had time 

 to recover, and the soil is 

 more humid, but, in spite 

 of this, the Mole is an in- 

 frequent visitor, although of 

 common occurrence in the 

 adjoining fields. 



The Brown Rat some- 

 times scuttles across one's 

 path at nightfall, but is 

 in no way troublesome, and the House Mouse is rarely 

 seen. Its cousin, the Long-tailed Field Mouse, however, lives 

 underground in the garden, as two freshly- worked holes (one among 

 the plants of the western border, and another in one of the steep 

 grass banks dividing lawn from kitchen garden), amply demon- 

 strate. Sometimes this agile little beast comes into the house, 

 and, although it does not appear to be guilty of purloining food, 

 the good housewife cannot tolerate it in the upstair cupboards, 

 and its numbers have, in consequence, to be reduced. 



It affords me great pleasure to know that this elegant little 

 mammal finds my garden a suitable place in which to reside, 



FIG. 87. LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE. 



