By the Brook. 305 



escape, will strike at the hand and bite, though harm- 

 less. Snakes will, indeed, twist round a threatening 

 stick ; and, as it is evidently a motion induced by 

 anger, the question arises whether they have some 

 power of constriction. If so, it is shght. In sum- 

 mer a few snakes ma}' always be found by the stream 

 that runs through the fields near Wick farm. 



This brook, like man}' others, in its downward 

 course is checked at irregular intervals by hatches 

 built for the purpose of forcing water out into the 

 meadows, or up to ponds at some distance from the 

 stream at which the cattle in the sheds drink. Some- 

 times the water is thus led up to a farmstead ; some- 

 times the farmstead is situate on the ver}' banks of 

 the brook, and the hatch is within a few yards. Be- 

 sides the movable hatches, the stream in many places 

 is crossed b}' ba3's (formed of piles of cla}') , which 

 either irrigate adjacent meads or keep the water in 

 ponds at a convenient level. 



A lonely moss-grown hatch, which stands in a 

 quiet shady corner not far from the lake, is a favor- 

 ite resort of the kingfishers. Though these brilliantly 

 colored birds ma,\ often be seen skimming across 

 the surface of the mere, they seem to obtain more 

 food from the brooks and ponds than from the 

 broader expanse of water above. In the brooks they 

 find overhanging branches upon which to perch and 

 watch for their prey, and without which they can 

 do nothing. In the lake the only places where such 

 boughs can be found are the shallow stretches where 

 the bottom is entirelj' mud, and where the water is 

 almost hidden by weeds. Willows grow there in 

 great quantities, and some of their branches ma}' be 

 20 



