IX 



BRITISH FERTILITY 



TN crossing the Atlantic from the New World to 

 -^ the Old, one of the first intimations the traveler 

 has that he is nearing a strange shore, and an old 

 and populous one, is the greater boldness and famil- 

 iarity of the swarms of sea-gulls that begin to hover 

 in the wake of the ship, and dive and contend with 

 each other for the fragments and parings thrown 

 overboard from the pantry. They have at once a 

 different air and manner from those we left behind. 

 How bold and tireless they are, pursuing the ves- 

 sel from dawn to dark, and coming almost near 

 enough to take the food out of your hand as you 

 lean over the bulwarks. It is a sign in the air; it 

 tells the whole story of the hungry and populous 

 countries you are approaching; it is swarming and 

 omnivorous Europe come out to meet you. You 

 are near the sea-marge of a land teeming with life, 

 a land where the prevailing forms are indeed few, 

 but these on the most copious and vehement scale ; 

 where the birds and animals are not only more 

 numerous than at home, but more dominating and 

 aggressive, more closely associated with man, con- 



