112 THE HERON. 



prized, that the destroying of a heron's nest, or the 

 capture of its eggs, subjected the party to a penalty 

 of twenty shillings. At present it is little heeded 

 in places where fish-ponds are not in use ; and where 

 they are, it is looked upon as a destroyer and a nui- 

 sance. When the peasants succeed in killing it, they 

 do not send it off as a present to royalty, or even eat 

 it themselves ; they nail it up upon the barn wall 

 or the stable door those common museums of rustic 

 natural history, along with owls and kites, and other 

 birds that are refused a place in the culinary catalogue. 

 It is difficult to generalize the natural history of a 

 lake, as it depends much upon situation. This applies 

 to the plants upon its shores, the fish in its waters, 

 the birds that frequent its surface, and even the insects 

 that sport in the air over it. Sometimes those dif- 

 ferences appear to be perfectly capricious. Thus in 

 the lower part of Strathmoor, in Scotland, there is one 

 small lake (the Loch of the Stormouth,) which, in 

 the breeding season, is literally covered with the 

 common gull, while on other lakes in the immediate 

 neighbourhood, which are to all appearance as well, if 

 not better adapted for the purpose, there is not one to 

 be seen. But in the distribution of animals, whether 

 for temporary or permanent residence, there can be 

 no caprice, their preference of any place to another 

 must depend upon some instinct, which, if known, 

 would be another point in their history ; and it is only 

 by the careful observation of their peculiarities that 

 that history can be made either general or true so far as 

 it goes. There is, however, one bird, which is pretty 

 generally found visiting all the British lakes that arc 



