150 WITH THE WOODLANDERS. 



dark and rich as it is ; all the earth - turning has 

 been done by moles. They abound, and bushels 

 after bushels of earth that would grow anything 

 has been heaved up by these powerful little ani- 

 mals. The soil gets spread about by the cattle 

 that feed here at times, and it forms a rare top- 

 dressing. Beside these little rills titlarks, or 

 meadow-pipits, nest ; you may see one of the birds 

 looking at you as she sits not a yard distant from 

 the spot where you stand. The smoke curls lazily 

 from the chimneys of the cottages, which are just 

 within the woods close to the meadow; birds are 

 singing merrily, and life of all sorts is in full 

 swing. 



From a moorland bank at one end of this meadow 

 a considerable fall of water rushes into the stream : 

 it is one of the numerous outlets for the water 

 from the moors above to the moors below. As 

 the fall is about four feet in height, the continual 

 run has formed a deep hole, just large enough for 

 a man to stand and turn round in. At the time 

 I speak of, a certain kingfisher was in the habit 

 of perching on a spray that nods just over this 

 little pool; he is there this morning. Kingfishers 



