54i E1WBEKIZID.E. 



straws one by one." From this, we must infer that the 

 Staffordshire stacks are very small, and that the same slo- 

 venly style of agriculture prevails there as in Gloucestershire ; 

 but, in our stacks, the sheaves are always laid horizontally, 

 or very nearly so, in concentric circles, except a few in the 

 centre, on the ground, and on the top, to finish off the struc- 

 ture, which soon becomes so firm that it requires a stout pull 

 to draw out a single straw, and the chances are always ten to 

 one that not a single grain is left by the friction on the spike 

 or panicle, as the case may be. 



The distribution of this species does not appear to be so 

 widely extended as that of the Lark Bunting. No mention 

 is made of it by Mr. Drummond, as occurring either in the is- 

 lands of Corfu or Crete. Neither has this bird a place in Mr. 

 Edmonstons " Fauna of Shetland," although in Scotland it is 

 abundant, as above mentioned, and resident throughout the 

 year. 



The gentle and affectionate character of this species was 

 above alluded to ; we may add another instance of it from 

 the notes of a friend. " In 1824," he says, " I had a spaniel 

 puppy, and, being with me one day in the road, he laid hold 

 of a young Yellow Hammer, which had begun to fly, and was 

 then resting itself in some long grass by the roadside. The 

 puppy seized the little thing, which gave a faint cry and died. 

 The old bird was on a tree close by, and immediately set up 

 a lamentation ; the notes were very expressive of grief, and it 

 was impossible for any one, knowing what had happened, 

 to listen to those notes without being affected by them. 

 After a while, I went on, and came back from my walk in 

 about two hours, and she was on the same tree, uttering the 

 same sounds." 



The entire length of this bird is six and a half inches. 

 The wing, from carpus to tip, measures three inches and a 

 half, and the tail, which is forked, extends an inch and a half 



