WILD LIFE IN WINTER. 285 



for their food, but the course is perfectly clear before 

 them ; leaves can be turned over and the hedgerows 

 explored in comfort ; but when the thick furry hoar- 

 frost covers everything, it is a different matter. At 

 , the least jar, as they move about in their search, a 

 shower of fine glass-like spikes falls on their fur or 

 plumage, and these stick. Then the warmth of the 

 creature's body melts the particles, and the bird or 

 beast is miserable. We know from personal experi- 

 ence what penetrating power the melting frost has. I 

 have come home in weather such as this, after a long 

 and fruitless search for wild things, feeling just about as 

 miserable as the creatures I was looking for could be. 



That bunched-up plumage of the birds, the short 

 shuffling flight, and the drop down — one can hardly 

 call it settling — tell their sad plight most eloquently. 



As to the furry animals, nothing but the most 

 pronounced movement, threatening danger, on your 

 part, will cause them to leave their retreats. Now 

 rabbits get confused often in looking for their homes, 

 and lie out. In waste lands — I do not refer to rabbit- 

 warrens — stoats and large rats give the rabbits notice 

 to quit in their own practical fashion, and the poor 

 things must squat outside. 



