260 



Peacock : The Beck — A Study. 



The only other thing necessary is a photographic camera, 

 with a few extra rapid dry plates. In a paper of this kind it is 

 impossible to mention the many suitable forms for work such as 

 I am describing - , but one cannot go far wrong in employing the 

 ( Anschutz,' supplied by Messrs. Ross. Take this piece of prac- 

 tical advice about natural history appliances, deal with as good 

 a firm as you can find, and stick to them ; and consult them too 

 if a difficulty occurs and you have no experienced friend to give 

 advice. The camera should be stowed away carefully, but always 

 ready for immediate use. For instance, a young cuckoo, blind, 

 naked and instinctively jealous, is caught in the act of throwing 

 its foster-brothers from the nest of the pied wagtail, or a pike is 

 observed preparing for its deadly rush, or an otter is seen 

 feeding on a freshly-caught fish. The sensitive ,plate takes an 

 instantaneous image of the scene and surroundings. 



When the place of observation has been carefully chosen, 

 and the impedimenta of his trade are hidden away behind 

 a screen of willow-herb (Epilobium hirsutum L.), cow-mumble 

 (Heracleum sphondylium L.), or hemlock (Conium maculatum L.), 

 that grow so rankly among the grass on the banks, a splendid 

 field for inquiry is opened out before the eager eyes of the 

 naturalist as he gazes through his glass up the beck. Let 

 us suppose that a lovely summer day is at its noon, with a mild 

 north-easterly breeze blowing, which clears the atmosphere from 

 damp, and waves everything to and fro with a lullaby influence 

 under a cloud-flecked sky — a day in fact like scores we have had 

 during the last few summers. The heat is not intense, or it 

 would deaden the activity of plant and animal life, and every- 

 thing is so clear that the minutest object in view is perfectly 

 defined, though in the language of the artist they are 

 ' unpleasantly hard.' In the near foreground the yellow iris 

 or cornflag is past the flower, and some of its seeds are well 

 advanced. It stands high above the bur-reed, arrowhead, and 

 flowering rush, in the water, all of which come into view at 

 a single glance, while close to the bank on the wet mud, the 

 water figwort is just opening its peculiar flowers. Its incon- 

 spicuous dark-purple or crimson corolla is remarkable for the 

 scale on the under side of its upper petal, causing it -often to be 

 mistaken for a dead nettle by the unlearned or young beginner 

 in botany. The herb-robert cranesbill, scarlet pimpernel, and 

 canterbury bells, just bursting into flower on the top of the 

 bank, are well set off by the white forget-me-not, which does 

 not fade pink or blue when drying, and the delicate blue-purple 



Naturalist, 



