THE DAILY LIFE OF OUR FARM. 205 



more than ever, consequently, upon the home-made 

 stuff, for of the farmer's difficulties I have long come 

 to the conclusion that the artificial manure and excess 

 of labour bills constitute a great part. 



Hurrah ! there's one of the missing pheasant hens 

 come out of the bushes with the bantams to feed ! I 

 throw them some small wheat, and she runs up the first 

 to pick it ; but she hops away quite indignantly from 

 the attention of the gay Lucknow chanticleer. 



Here comes a workman with a brace of squirrels — 

 " Executed in the very act of nibbling off the tops of a 

 fir-plantation," he says. I hope the statement is true, 

 for they are very pretty, running up and down the 

 trees, although I am not partial to them, I must 

 confess, when the filbert and walnut crops are ripe. 



There is a beautiful hawk floating about, notwith- 

 standing the number that my neighbour's keeper has 

 shot upon the ledges of a rock just in sight of our 

 lawn. I have given orders to my man to spare him. 

 He looks so graceful sailing amidst the tree tops, as we 

 see them below us ; and we can quite well spare a lot 

 of the increasing wood-pigeon tribe. " Murder ! Oh ! 

 my — my ! " I was startled to hear, yesterday, uttered 

 rapidly, and in shrill tones, by an unhappy green wood- 

 pecker, who comes daily to feed upon the grass-plot. 

 Master hawk had spied him, and gave chase, which was 

 the reason of the agonised cries I heard, and which 

 were uttered as the foolish bird took his flight, rapidly 

 losing way, across a small meadow. He turned sud- 

 denly, however, into the wood; whereupon his pursuer, 

 making a graceful, but contemptuous swoop, declined 

 further pursuit, and floated elegantly out in quest of 

 new game. 



