54 Wood side. 



leading to Gravesend, and here we are near the far-famed and 

 lovely beds of rhododendrons. We cannot go and see them 

 to-day ; they must have a separate visit, and they are well 

 worth it. Great masses of vivid blossom stretching far and 

 wide in every direction ; the bee-hawk moth sucking honey 

 from the deep tubular nectaries, its tongue driven down 

 into the flower, whilst the moth remains almost motionless, 

 upborne by the marvellously rapid vibrations of its wings ; 

 the sun falling in drops of light through the leafy masses of 

 the oak-trees on the moss-grown paths below all these com- 

 bine to make a most charming picture. We still keep along 

 the road to Cobham, now and again diving into the woods as 

 objects of interest come in sight. 



Here, in this yew tree, is something worthy of our atten- 

 tion. Almost hidden by the thick dark leaves of the tree ; 

 suspended from a slender branch, around which it is woven 

 with amazing skill and dexterity, until the branch forms 

 part of the roof, the remainder hanging suspended below in 

 the form of a large oval ball with a tiny little hole on one 

 side for entrance; the inside warmly and carefully lined 

 with a thick bed of softest feathers ; the outside beautifully 

 woven with fine silken webs ; the whole covered with tiny 

 pieces of lichen which the busy little architects have pulled 

 from the trunks of the neighbouring trees, is a gold-crest's 

 nest. As it hangs pendent from the bough it appears a 

 massive structure for such tiny birds to have made ; but so 

 carefully is it hidden, and so amply is it protected by its 

 lichen covering, that it can only be detected with difficulty; 

 and so remarkably beautiful is it withal that one cannot fail 

 to admire the marvellous work of such tiny builders. Pull 

 the branch down carefully. Ah! we have disturbed the 



