NATURE'S HEALING 201 



pretty white or pied dress. Birds that have been pied 

 in their youth, then have put on sober apparel, again 

 put on the showy shade of feathers in their old age, 

 though it is a lucky pheasant that reaches anything 

 like old age, whether pied or not. 



Nature is a kindly doctor and though any accident 

 to the flying or running powers of a wild creature 

 probably means death, miraculous recoveries 



are to be noted * Rabbits commonly suffer 

 from broken legs, whether from gun-shot, 

 trap, or other cause ; but limbs often heal and 

 become serviceable members again. Nor is a broken 

 wing always enough to cause the death of a game-bird. 

 Should the bird escape its foes while the broken 

 bone is setting, it may live to fly, if not quite as well 

 as ever. We noticed once that one bird in a covey of 

 partridges flew more slowly than the others ; it was 

 shot, and when picked up we found that there had 

 been an old wing fracture, and that the broken ends 

 had crossed and overlapped in setting. A curious 

 case was that of a partridge which was shot in the 

 wing, and ran when followed through the turnips 

 by a retriever. Several times the bird sprang above 

 the turnips, attempting, but in vain, to fly ; then, 

 when the dog seemed about to catch it, the bird gave 

 a final spring, and this time flew straight away. 

 But after fifty yards or so it dropped to earth, falling 



