6o My Pond. 



As for the water-hens, they live, so far as I can see, 

 in the most perfect amity with the voles, leading out 

 their young broods fearlessly while the rodents are 

 swimming about, which could hardly be the case, did 

 the voles intrude into the water-hens' nests in search of 

 eggs, or really have serious designs upon their young 

 ones. This, at least, is no matter of doubt, for at cer- 

 tain seasons of the year we have witnessed it almost 

 daily. The voles rejoice to browse on the flags, irises, 

 rushes, and green herbage that surround the pond, 

 and are particularly fond of the leaves of the iris, and 

 will sit on their hind legs like a squirrel and nibble 

 contentedly at one spot for a long time. Their mode 

 of eating is similar to that of the squirrel. They sit 

 on their haunches and hold the food in their front 

 paws, and nibble, nibble at it in the prettiest way. 

 They do not properly hybernate, but are partially dor- 

 mant during winter, and lay up a store of food in a 

 shelf or corner, specially prepared. Mr. Groom Napier 

 found in one of these, when he had dug out a water- 

 vole's tunnelled abode, a large quantity of fragments of 

 carrots and potatoes, sufficient to fill a peck measure. 



I have certainly never seen them seeking for worms 

 or insects, or eating them. As for their eating fish- 

 spawn, they cannot do much depredation in that way, 

 for this pool, which has been always well-fished, in- 

 creases to such an extent in tench and in roach, that in 

 the evening, when the gnats come out, and disport 

 themselves in their thousands on the surface of the 

 water, you can see the roach in shoals when the sun- 

 shine falls at certain favourite spots near the surface, 

 towards the inlet, really making, when you look low 

 along the water, a kind of faint dark-blue or purple 

 patches, from the midst of which every few seconds 



