THE YEARS PROGRAMME 117 



whence new booty of this genus has just come in the 

 satchel of Mr. Kingdon Ward. I once caught out a 

 great botanist on his way to visit the rarest of the pinks 

 in the Home Counties. This secrecy of the botanists is 

 nothing to the secrecy of the bird-men. Most of us in 

 Southern and Eastern England stop out some April 

 evening to hear whether the nightingale is back again in 

 his old haunt ; and rejoice to tell our neighbours. The 

 live bird at least is in no danger from its popularity. 

 Behaviour is quite different when we hear of so rare a 

 bird as the kite being seen in its nesting neighbourhood. 

 I shall never forget the sudden hush in the voice of a 

 great bird watcher when he told me of the presence of 

 spotted crake in a particular marsh. We were in the 

 wild, out of sight of so much as a house or a road ; but 

 his almost instinctive caution, almost religious reverence 

 was not to be lightly doffed. A little bird of the air might 

 carry the news to some acquisitive collector or photo 

 graphic publicist. 



It is not always safe to confess the whereabouts even 

 of a common flower. I was once indiscreet enough to 

 give the exact latitude and longitude of a meadow of Lent 

 lilies. The owners of the paddock were presently bom 

 barded with requests from trippers, who had made special 

 pilgrimage to the spot, for leave to pick ; and if it was 

 refused, the pathetic plea was added, &quot; Just a few for 

 mother s grave/ It seems to be a generally recognised 

 appeal ! Certainly it would be indiscreet to set up a 

 notice, on the Kew model, at all the wickets of England. 

 Kites, Dartford and marsh warblers ; Cheddar pinks, 

 lilies, and butterfly orchises ; even copper and swallow 

 tail butterflies must be saved from the dangers of popu 

 larity and collectors ; but most of the more lovely appear 

 ances of the British seasons are by no means caviare to 



