10 JANUARY. 



standing ready to pounce upon them. Not 

 even night, with its deepest shades, can protect 

 them at this cruel time. They are roused from 

 their slumbers in the sides of warm stacks by a 

 sieve or a net, fixed upon a pole, being clapped 

 before them. Those which roost in hedges 

 and copses are aroused by beating the trees and 

 bushes, at the same time that they are dazzled 

 with the glare of a torch, and, flying instinc- 

 tively towards the light, are knocked down and 

 secured. This is called in some counties bird- 

 moping ; and in this manner are destroyed 

 great numbers of pheasants, thrushes, black- 

 birds, besides innumerable small birds. With 

 all these enemies, and these various modes of 

 destruction, it is only surprising that the race 

 is not extirpated. 



One of the pleasures of frosty weather will 

 be found in walking. The clear and bracing 

 air invigorates the frame ; exercise gives a de- 

 lightful glow to the blood, and the mind is held 

 in pleasing attention to the phenomena and fea- 

 tures of the season. Every sound comes to 

 the ear with a novel and surprising distinct- 

 ness. The low of cattle ; the rattle of far-off 

 wheels ; the hollow tread of approaching feet ; 

 and the merry voices of sliders and skaiters, 

 who are pursuing their healthful amusement 

 upon every sheet of unruffled ice. In towns, 



