176 
reénforced from the abundance of wild life in the fields and woods 
of the surrounding counties and by the introduction of many 
strange and accidental visitors through foreign trade. The south- 
west winds of later summer shed over London the winged seeds 
of the great purple willow-herb that grows in the Surrey pine 
woods; and a bunch of bananas sold in a greengrocer’s shop in 
Lambeth or Canning Town may be found to conceal the nest of 
a West Indian humming bird, or some more formidable tarantula 
or centipede. Nature is present in London much more widely 
than is suspected; but she often escapes notice owing to her 
novel and unsuspected refuges. The sluggard of central London 
who decides to heed Solomon’s admonishment can still go to the 
ant; but he is a good deal less likely to find it in its ordinary out- 
door haunts, which we may presume that Solomon had in mind, 
than among the sugar barrels and wine-flasks of a great pro- 
vision store. 
Apart from rare and exotic additions to its list, London pro- 
vides considerable opportunities for studying the wild life of our 
own country. Most British trees, and many wild plants, can 
be observed and distinguished in London parks; and, though 
London birds are of fewer distinct kinds than haunt most country- 
sides, they are very numerous, and their great tameness makes 
them excellent subjects for observation. Plants, birds, animals 
and insects also excite a livelier interest among London children 
than among their country cousins, from their very unfamiliarity 
and their contrast with their urban surroundings. The London 
urchin concentrates on his illicit minnow-fishing in park waters 
all the natural interest in wild life which eames boys disperse 
in a hundred daily occupations. A few summers ago, when the 
trees in Hyde Park were falested with ae caterpillars of the 
trying to tempt their captives’ fickle appetites with such un- 
natural delicacies as orange peel. 
Though the London child’s attempts at pet keeping are often 
extremely ill-instructed, they spring from a healthy natural in- 
stinct, which only needs proper education to become of great 
