154 WITHIN AN HOUR OF LONDON TOWN. 



redshank or pool-snipe was dubbed the red-legged 

 yelper, with very good reason. Wild geese, the 

 Brent goose excepted, were all called grey geese, 

 a very comprehensive title with the shooters. 



Our line of coast was, from its formation, pecu- 

 liarly adapted to all the fowl that visited our shores. 

 Where sea-grass grows and the succulent salt-water 

 algae flourish, the fowl congregated in past times, 

 and they do so now in diminished numbers, to feed 

 on these plants. A great amount of wild country 

 is still left to us ; I have lately returned from parts 

 where some who have challenged my statements 

 would have been found dead, if they had attempted 

 to travel over them in the gloaming. Quicksands 

 and morasses are still numerous enough within 

 thirty miles of London, to say nothing about wilder 

 country beyond. In fifty years' time these morasses 

 may be drained ; but the wild hillsides covered 

 with firs and heather will remain as they have ever 

 been, the feeding and playing grounds of our wild 

 creatures. Man has tried to cultivate some of this 

 wild ground, and has failed in all his efforts. The 

 marks of his ploughshare can yet be seen in 

 places, showing this. They must remain what 



