58 FROM SPRING TO FALL. 



in the fields hard at work on the store of life 

 which has now come up to the surface. 



The poor little jackdaw has suffered terribly this 

 season, for he has been found in the very act — 

 there is not the least use in denying it, — he was 

 caught red - handed, as the saying goes, killing 

 young pheasants and partridges. 



The experience of a lifetime devoted to the obser- 

 vation of natural life has taught me that there is 

 no hard-and-fast rule for any living creature that 

 is in a state of nature; and before long I believe 

 that many mischievous theories will be swept away. 

 Some indeed of these have been originated by men 

 who have gained much of their knowledge — of bird 

 life especially — from boxes of dry skins. All the 

 elaborate lists of genera ever compiled would not 

 give their readers the life -habits of a sparrow. 

 This is a digression, however. 



The late spell of burning sunshine has had a 

 peculiar effect on our reptiles, which are harmless, 

 with of course one exception, the viper. They have 

 left their usual haunts, although they do like heat, 

 in order to follow their prey to lower ground at the 

 bottom of the hills. Some very large specimens of 



