WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN. 139 



rabbits shelter there when the corn is standing, yet 

 you do not find the corn fed on, not when it is in 

 the ear, — at least I have not seen this, although I 

 have watched very closely for signs of mischief. 

 No doubt just as it is out of the ground some of 

 it is nibbled a bit, but not to any very great extent. 

 Root crops I have seen worked very considerably ; 

 but the skylark is very frequently the cause of much 

 harm, under certain circumstances, for the birds 

 peck out the soft white stem of the wheat just as 

 it is rising from the ground. There is not the least 

 fear of the skylark being exterminated, for, more or 

 less, these birds are migrants. Birds of many kinds 

 visit corn-fields, but some of them do not eat a 

 grain. 



Where ducks come from is a puzzle ; but come 

 they do in the light of the harvest moon — wild 

 ducks — to fill their crops and fly away to quiet 

 waters, known to themselves, at break of day. And 

 if the badger has his home under the hill, be very 

 sure he will waddle out into the stubble where all 

 kinds of small deer are about — mice, frogs, beetles, 

 snails, and slugs, beside vegetable trifles. His 

 appetite is very accommodating ; he likes them all. 



