5+6 



MY GARDEN. 



generally decamp forthwith to other places where they are not so 

 cruelly treated. 



We have also the Greater Titmouse {Parus major, fig. 1175), the 

 Cole Tit {Parus ater, fig. 1176), the Marsh Tit {Parus palustris), 

 and the Long- tailed Tit {Parus caudatus, fig. 1177). In the severe 

 winter of 1870-71, when many of the small birds perished from cold 

 and hunger, they were so pressed for food that they were readily 

 caught in a trap baited with a piece of fat bacon. Several titmice 



Fig. 1176. — Cole Titmouse 



Fig. 1177.— Long tailed Titmouse. 



Fig. 1178. — Golden-crested 

 Wren. 



thus procured were placed by the gardener in the Fernery, where they 

 enjoyed the genial temperature, and soon made themselves very much at 

 home ; they cleared every plant of aphis, coccus, or any other insect 

 they could find, and when I had my luncheon were quite ready to 

 share with me my frugal repast. But at the very earliest oppor- 

 tunity they proved themselves unthankful for the kindness shown 

 to them, and flew away through the first crack in the glass they 

 could find. The long-tailed titmouse is remarkable for the beauty 

 of its long nest, which is greatly prized by boys. 



The Golden-crested Wren {Regulus cristatus, fig. 1178) visits us, but 

 I do not remember to have seen its suspended nest, which is generally 

 fixed in a fir-tree. It is the smallest of all birds, and towards autumn 

 congregates in the woods round London, at Weybridge, and also in Hert- 

 fordshire, where hundreds may frequently be observed flying from tree 

 to tree, picking out every insect and every insect's e^g they can find. 



My garden is rich in Warblers. The Grasshopper Warbler {Sylvia 

 locustella) has been heard. The Sedge Warbler {Sylvia Phrag- 



