62 The Gamekeeper at Home. 



The ploughboys know this, and make whistles out of 

 such branches, as they do also from the willow, and 

 even the sycamore in the season when the sap comes 

 up in its flood-tide. 



It is difficult to decide at what time of the year 

 the park is in its glory. The may-flower on the 

 great hawthorn trees in spring may perhaps claim 

 the pre-eminence, filling the soft breeze with exquisite 

 odour. These here are trees, not bushes, standing 

 separate, with thick gnarled stems so polished by 

 the constant rubbing of cattle as almost to shine like 

 varnish. The may-bloom, pure white in its full 

 splendour, takes a dull reddish tinge as it fades, when 

 a sudden shake will bring it down in showers. A 

 flowering tree, I fancy, looks best when apart and 

 not one of a row. In the latter case you can only 

 see two sides and not all round it. Here tall horse- 

 chestnut trees stand single — one great silvery can- 

 delabrum of blossom. Wood-pigeons appear to have 

 a liking for this tree. Nor must the humble crab-tree 

 be forgotten ; a crab-tree in bloom is a lovely sight. 



The idea of a park is associated with peace and 

 pleasure, yet even here there is one spot where the 

 passions of men have left their mark. As previously 

 hinted, the gamekeeper, like most persons with little 

 book-learning and who take their impressions from 



