LIFE IN THE NEW FOREST 



949 



FOREST PONIES. 



little later in the season we may catch a 

 ghmpse of a full-fledged nestling peering 

 out from the nest, with craning neck 

 and anxious expression, awaiting the 

 return of the parent birds with food. 



Echoes down the long dark glades the 

 hoot of an owl. and in the gathering gloom 

 we catch a ghmpse of a large bird as it 

 passes swiftly on broad and silent wing. 

 In an hour the moon will rise, and then 

 we may hear the Tawny Owls call to each 

 other across the lawns. It is astonish- 

 ing, in the deep quiet of the forest night, 

 how far the hoot of the owl carries. The 

 owls are fairly numerous, and one rarely 

 takes an evening walk without being re- 

 warded with the sight of at least one of 

 these birds starting forth on its nightly 

 foray. During the nesting season they 

 become very bold, and e\'en aggressive, as 

 the ardent entomologist has learned to his 

 cost on more than one occasion when 

 sugaring for moths at night. The parent 

 birds, alarmed by the flashing of his 

 lantern for the safety of their young, 

 will swoop down and attack him with 

 beak and claw. 



While the Tawny Owls frequent the 

 forest glades, loving to nest in the hollow 

 of some ancient tree, the Barn Owls keep 

 more to those districts that are under 

 partial cultivation. 



As we pass along the sandy bank of an 



enclosure facing south on a warm sunny 

 autumn morning, we may catch sight of 

 an adder sunning itself at the entrance 

 to a deserted rabbit burrow. This is a 

 very favourite situation with the adders, 

 and a good number seem to hibernate 

 during the winter in the deserted rabbit 

 burrows in the sand banks that face the 

 south. Far from being an aggressive 

 creature the adder is only too anxious 

 to get away if disturbed, and generally 

 will only show fight when cornered, or 

 when trodden upon — an accident which 

 may happen when one is tramping through 

 heather. 



Very beautiful is the coming of spring 

 in the Forest, a sight the memory of which 

 will ever remain a cherished treasure in 

 the mind of the lover of Nature who has 

 looked upon it. Here, indeed, one can 

 realise the full beauty and significance of 

 the old Greek Nature m\i;hs. All through 

 the long dark nights of winter, have we 

 not heard the voice of Demeter, sighing 

 and calling through the leafless branches 

 of the forest trees, seeking vainly for 

 her vanished child ? Look ! a golden 

 star amidst the whirl of the restless wind- 

 blown lea\-es — a single Celandine flower, 

 bringing its promise of good to come. 

 Now in the hazel-wood blossoms the 

 Primrose, hfting a golden chahce, fragrant 

 with hope, to the fitful gleam of the cold 



