2 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



and trees. In a land altogether treeless, this feature 

 becomes at once a striking and most pleasing one. 

 Every tree was planted by the Naturalist himself, with 

 what cost and labour was known to him only. He 

 watched over their growth with the fostering care of 

 a parent, and thought the time and money he spent 

 upon his little plantation well spent. When asked 

 by the sneering money-grubbers : " Will that sort of 

 thing make the pot boil ? " he replied, smiling : " Cer- 

 tainly ; nothing better than sticks for making the fire 

 burn and the pot boil ! " 



But what was his joy to find, as the years went past, 

 and his trees became acclimatised, that woodland birds 

 were attracted by them, and finding both shelter and 

 food, took up their abode among the kindly branches. 

 Nor did the birds come merely as stray visitors, but 

 as actual residenters. The chaffinch and woodpecker, 

 the wren and the hedge-accentor — once but rarely seen, 

 and then only as solitary wanderers — now colonised 

 the shrubbery. The cross-bill, the rose-coloured pastor, 

 the fieldfare, the mealy redpole, redstart, linnet, and 

 blackbird, became familiar visitors. The Naturalist's 

 heart rejoiced. 



But there was one serious drawback to his delightful 

 contemplation of the feathered woodfolk who had so 

 graciously lighted among his greenery. If he loved 

 birds, he also loved beasts, and of all beasts a cat was 

 the delight of his soul. Now cats, like naturalists, 

 take intense pleasure in crouching in quiet corners to 

 watch the motions of winged creatures. To be sure, 



