GAME IN ALLOTMENT GARDENS. 179 



surrounds the spot, and now and then he takes a walk up 

 and down the narrow paths between the plots. His dog 

 sniffs about among the heaps of rubbish or under the 

 potato-vines. The men at work are remarkably civil and 

 courteous to the gentleman in the velveteen jacket, who 

 on his side, is equally chatty with them ; but both in their 

 hearts know very well the why and wherefore of this in- 

 terest in agriculture. Almost all kinds of game are 

 attracted by gardens, presupposing, of course, that they 

 are situated at a distance from houses, as these allotments 

 are. There is a supply of fresh, succulent food of various 

 kinds : often too, after a large plot has been worked for 

 garden produce, the tenant will sow it for barley or beans 

 or oats, on the principle of rotation ; and these small areas 

 of grain have a singular fascination for pheasants, and hares 

 linger in them. 



Rabbits, if undisturbed, are particularly fond of garden 

 vegetables. In spring and early summer they will make 

 those short holes in which they bring forth their young 

 under the potato-vines, finding the soil easy to work, dry, 

 and the spot sheltered by the thick green stems and leaves. 

 Both rabbits and hares do considerable damage if they are 

 permitted the run of the place unchecked. The tenants 

 of the allotments, however, instead of driving them off, are 

 anxious that they should come sniffing and limping over 

 the plots in the gloaming, and are strongly suspected of 

 allowing crops specially pleasing to game to remain in the 



