SELBORNE AND WOLMER FOREST 89 



rather the holes drilled in successive years for their 

 nests, by the pairs which annually breed in this 

 favourite spot. One of them had been robbed by the 

 squirrels, which had sucked the eggs and flung the 

 shells upon the ground. Higher up in the firs were 

 the nests of carrion crows and hawks, robber birds 

 which haunt this lofty eyrie, and, soaring round the 

 hill, or perched upon the dead branches of the trees, 

 keep a watchful eye upon the forest for miles around. 



Wolmer forest is a good instance of a Government 

 property managed with good taste and good sense. 

 The forest fires, of which Gilbert White speaks, are 

 now kept in check so far as the limited number of 

 warders available can do so, and the wild life of the 

 district is just apparently preserved to give that 

 additional interest to woodland scenery, from the 

 absence of which the forests of France suffer so 

 greatly. If the origin of the sentiment which preserves 

 these creatures were sought, it would probably be 

 found in the writings of Gilbert White of Selborne. 



