AN OLD CHALK PIT 329 



breeding-place of birds of many species ; even the red- 

 backed shrike had nested there within forty yards of a 

 human habitation, and the kingfisher had safely reared 

 his young, unsuspected by the barbarous water-keeper. 

 The pit, too, was a shelter in cold rough weather and a 

 roosting-place at night. Now the fruit was ripe, it was 

 a banqueting-place as well, and the native birds were 

 joined by roving outsiders, missel- thrushes in scores, 

 and starlings in hundreds. The noise they produced 

 a tangle of so many various semi-musical voices 

 sounded all day long ; and until the abundant fruit had 

 all been devoured the chalk pit was a gigantic green 

 and white bowl full to overflowing with sunshine, purple 

 juice, and melody. 



The biggest crop of this fruit out of the old chalk pit 

 was in the garden of a cottage in the village, close to 

 the river, occupied by an old married couple, hard 

 workers still with spade and hoe, and able to make a 

 living by selling the produce of their garden. It was a 

 curious place ; fruit trees and bushes, herbs, vegetables, 

 flowers, all growing mixed up anyhow, without beds or 

 walks or any line of demarcation between cultivated 

 plants and brambles and nettles on either side and the 

 flags and sedges at the lower end by the river. In the 

 midst of the plot, just visible among the greenery, stood 

 the small, old, low-roofed thatched cottage, where the 

 hens were free to go in and lay their eggs under the 

 bed, or in any dark corner they preferred. A group of 

 seven or eight old elder-trees grew close to the cottage, 



