THIRD DAY. 95 



as these ; but I confess I have occasionally 

 been somewhat at a loss to account for our 

 finding them in wild districts, where a patch 

 of verdure is not seen for miles. I remem- 

 ber, when in Ireland some years ago, strol- 

 ling out very early one beautiful summer's 

 morning in the neighbourhood of Glenties, 

 in the wilds of Donegal, and hearing at 

 one and the same time the cuckoo among 

 the hills, the corncrake in the scanty patches 

 of long coarse grass, the skylark in the air, 

 and the chattering of three magpies in a 

 clump of small lime-trees the only trees 

 within miles of the spot, and certainly the 

 only ones within sight at the rear of a 

 house near the town. In this wild and 

 barren region, each of these creatures must 

 have found its proper food. It is not sur- 

 prising to see the gull, the hawk, the kite, 

 and the hooded-crow in such desolate tracts ; 

 but it is difficult to learn how the smaller 

 birds subsist, and protect their young from 



