THE NIGHT SIDE OF N A TUBE. 25 



head, as the bird flies through the night to 

 its far-off feeding-ground. In the fall of the 

 year, multitudes of migratory birds pass over ; 

 we " hear the beat of their pinions fleet," 

 but their forms we cannot see. If only, 

 however, we hear the cry of their voices, 

 falling dreamily through the sky, the species 

 is easy of identification. If we approach the 

 reed-beds silently, we may hear the hoarse 

 croak of the frogs ; or springing wild ducks, 

 as they beat the air with their strong wings. 

 Emerging from the waterside to a belt of 

 coppice, we are again reminded how lightly 

 the creatures of the fields and woods sleep. 

 The faintest rustle brings chirping from the 

 bushes, and in the densest darkness even some 

 of the delicate wood-birds sing — not only the 

 Sedge and Grasshopper Warblers, but from 

 the willows come the lute-like mellowness and 

 wild sweetness of the Blackcap, another night 

 singer. 



There are some conspicuously white flowers 

 which only emit their fragrance at night, and 

 these have their own particular night-flying 

 insects to fertilize them. From among the. 

 ground-weeds rises at intervals the sweet 



