296 ON SURREY HILLS. 



feet — no small one it is, and then he gets a good 

 feed, if I may judge from the time I have seen him 

 stay there. After he has left the spot with a harsh 

 screech, down darts a mistle-thrush from some yew- 

 trees near to see what he can get ; one or two 

 great tits follow suit, but these are driven off by 

 the thrush in the most savage manner. Food is 

 the grand object, and one creature is always on 

 the alert to benefit by the exertions of another. 

 Acorns, hazel-nuts, and beech-nuts get their outer 

 covering softened by being buried in the soft leaf- 

 mould, and the husk or shell is easily detached. 

 Crab-apples, which have fallen from the trees in some 

 of the lonely spots, have lain there under the leaves 

 and ripened thoroughly — a rare find for the birds. 

 We read of roasted crabs swimming in the strong 

 ale of olden times, and I am sure they must have 

 been good ; for after a natural ripening under the 

 leaves these are, as the rustics say, toothable ; and 

 our children will tell you that wild plums, bullaces, 

 together with the sloes or pickets, "ain't to be 

 sneezed at arter they've bin frosted " — that is, exposed 

 to the hard weather. I can endorse this : the rough 

 acid element is made sweet by Jack Frost's action. 



