The Effects of a Drought 67 



pends upon the food-supply. It is equally 

 evident that no form of animal life can sur- 

 vive for any protra&ed period an absence of 

 moisture. During the prevalence of the 

 drought heavy dews doubtless afforded a suf- 

 ficiently copious morning draught to slake 

 the thirst for a period of twenty-four hours, 

 and so met the needs of small mammals, as 

 mice and shrews, and birds, like sparrows, 

 but ordinarily these same creatures drink 

 much oftener than once a day. But this 

 briefly moist condition of the dawn and early 

 morning hours was not of itself sufficient to 

 keep the wide range of animal life in health 

 or comfort, and the result was a migratory 

 movement from the drier uplands to the 

 moister meadows ; a noticeable depletion of 

 the fields and overcrowding of the marshes. 

 This was not suddenly brought about, but 

 rather gradual, and would not probably have 

 been noticed except by one daily upon the 

 scene. The parched vegetation had, of 

 course, its effect upon seed-eating birds, but 

 probably a more marked one upon insect life. 

 Certainly the inseft-eating birds left their old 

 haunts to a great extent and were found in 

 unusual abundance along the two creeks that 



