APRIL 103 



doubt whether, as Lord Avebury suggests, they afford any 

 immunity from the attacks of insects, because some of 

 our brightest butterflies the Red Admiral, the Peacock, 

 the small Tortoiseshell, and the Comma lay their eggs 

 upon stinging nettles, which are the regular food of their 

 caterpillars. 



XXIV 



In the old days, before railways had invaded the ancient 

 principality of Galloway, our farmers relied ConcerninK 

 principally upon Liverpool and Manchester as Quails and 

 markets for beef and mutton. 'There's an Landrail8 

 enormous stomach behind Manchester,' was a favourite 

 saying of my father's old factor ; and it came to my mind 

 on a summer day in 1905 when I was watching a van being 

 unloaded of a number of flat cases in the city of London. 

 ' An enormous stomach in London,' methought, for these 

 cases contained a consignment of live quails to a large 

 purveyor in the city. I was not aware at that time of 

 what has become manifest since namely, that 1905 was 

 to be noted as ' a quail year ' in the British Islands. From 

 almost every part of the country the occurrence of quails 

 was reported, the most singular instance being from that 

 queer little place Fair Isle, midway between Orkney and 

 Shetland. My friend, Mr. Eagle Clarke, a well-known 

 and experienced naturalist, spent several weeks there in 

 summer. A clutch of eggs was brought to him, stated to 

 be those of the landrail ; but he recognised them at once 

 as those of the quail. How could the parent birds hit 

 upon that minute and remote spot in the North Sea, only 

 three miles by two in extent, and twenty-nine miles from 

 Sumburgh Head ? 



