792 



THE NATURE BOOK 



aspen, as if they were never still. The 

 pink and wiiite campions grow on all 

 sides, and in the bottom of the hedges 

 the white blooms of the greater and the 

 tiny, starry flowers of the lesser stitchwort 

 may be seen. Along unfrequented path- 

 ways by the streams the large spreading 

 leaves of the butter-bur, which masters 

 of the brush love to include in the fore- 

 ground of their pictures, seem to smother 

 everything but the pinkish-white flower 

 discs of the cow-parsnip topping its three 

 feet of stalk : but lovely above all others 

 is the meadow cranesbill. with its large 

 purple-blue flowers of almost unpaintable 

 hue. The elder bushes are decked with 

 flat discs of creamy white flowers, and 

 from a distance the guelder rose bushes 

 app:)ear similarly garbed : but in the case 

 of the latter, large and small flowers are 

 borne on the same stalk — the larger flowers 

 being barren and placed round merel}' as 

 an attraction for insects. 



Words fail to picture the delights of a 

 June evening when the sun, after shining 

 for sixteen long hours from a cloudless 

 sky, is slow!}- sinking beneath the western 

 horizon — a great red ball of fire. The 

 whole countryside presents a scene so 

 peaceful that it baffles description. 



The cuckoo calls from an oak tree near 

 by, and soon evokes an answering note 

 from a couple of fields away ; the musical 

 " tur-tur " of the turtle-dove comes from the 



distance, and from the other side the more 

 pronounced cooing of the wood pigeon ; 

 from amongst the rushes and sedges by 

 the water-side the moorhen croaks, and 

 the water vole rustles his way through 

 the dry reed stems. Twenty or thirty 

 yards away the head and ears of a hare 

 appear as she sits on her haunches to 

 peep above the growing corn ; hedge 

 snails are feeding upon the vegetation, 

 and through the grass many black slugs 

 make their way. An occasional beetle 

 flies past with murmurous droning ; 

 various moths come from their daylight 

 resting-places, and the little pipistrelle 

 bat issues forth to flicker to and fro with 

 seemingly uncertain flight. The shrew 

 squeaks shrilly in the grass, and enow the 

 king of the night folk — the barn owl — 

 sails around on silent wings, presently 

 gi\-ing vent to such a weird, uncanny 

 scream as must surely blanch with terror 

 the hearts of all rodents starting on their 

 nightly prowls, and send them scuttling 

 oft" home again in no uncertain manner. 

 From a wood over the way comes the loud 

 cry of a startled pheasant, and as if to 

 follow his example, a blackbird flies 

 hurriedly out of the bush where he 

 obviously intended roosting, with noisy 

 caclde, and the sedge warbler, which had 

 settled down for a time, breaks out anew 

 to chatter and scold for all he is worth. 

 Benjamin Kanley. 



.\ YOUNG CUCKOO. 



