•93 
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 
647. Some Nature Notes from Sussex. — Durinq; two weeks in 
August I spent a very pleasant time at a farmhouse in Sussex, just over four 
miles from llailsham, in the village of Cowheach. On the day of my arriv.rl it 
was with great delight that I noted for the first time the splendour of the wild 
beauty of Sussex lanes. On either side of the lane which led to my destination 
the hedgerows were almost covered with the long trailing strands of bramble, the 
pink and white blossoms and green berries mingling with the bloom of sweet- 
smelling honeysuckle, while above and beneath the hedges bracken grew in 
abundance. .\ little further on, to my sorrow, I saw that some of the hedges had 
been deprived of their natural beauty — cut down to one half their height, and the 
banks cleared of the green and flowering herbage. Lying on the side of the 
road, re.rdy to be carted away, were pieces of bramble, giant foxgloves, and 
numerous other familiar wayside flowers that are a source of rtelight to the country 
rambler. Why is it, I wonder, that this cutting and clipping is not postponed 
till the winter months, when our country lanes are not in all the glory of their wild 
beauty ? 
In a large pond at the back of the farmhouse some little moorhens (Gallinula 
chloropm) have their retreat. They were so shy that only by taking up a position 
a few yards away, and remaining very quiet, was I able to watch their move- 
ments. In and out of the reeds these little timid creatures hunted for food, and 
sometimes, when all was quiet, they would come out on to the banks and pick 
up what little bits the ducks had left of their meal. But, on the approaching 
sound of footsteps, they would scuttle away out of sight beneath the overhanging 
hedges on the banks of the pond. 
I was very much surprised when informed that some barn owls inhabited a 
spacious loft in a part of the house and had two young ones. All day could be 
heard the peculiar screeching of these owlets, a noise which at times resembled 
the deep snoring of a person asleep, .-^nd when dusk fell, two big forms of a 
whitish appearance would emerge from the loft in search of prey for the young. 
On a clear moonlight night these birds could be seen catching mice on the hay- 
stacks near by. 
One morning, while sitting on a stump of a tree in a wood, where, except for 
the soughing of the wind in the trees and the occasional cooing of wood-pigeons, 
no other sound could be heard, I was suddenly startled by a shrill squealing near 
at hand. Within a few paces from me were two li.tle figures struggling, and I at 
first thought that squirrels were in deadly combat. I ran to the sp it lo find that 
a weasel had been on a poaching expedition and caught a young rabbit. On my 
approach he at once dropped his victim, but not before he had killed it. In spite 
of my presence he stopped by the entrance of his burrow, and from there he 
watched me pick up his capture ; and not until I made a threatening action 
did he attempt to enter his hole, where he still continued to survey my move- 
ments. 
Through this very same wood a pretty winding path separates the thickly 
grown ash and hazel trees, and on either side the boughs are interlaced overhead, 
and the edges of the path are bordered by luxuriant moss, with a species of sword 
fern growing out of it. What little space there was between the trees was 
covered with the spreading fronds of the wood-fern, and slightly hidden beneath 
these I found a solitary violet. What a pleasure it was to find this little flower 
at this time of the year and in such splendid surroundings ! Round and about 
were plants of the primrose, and long dried stems from which hung the seed-vessels 
of the blue-bell, nr “ blue-bottle” as they are called by the natives. I was told 
that the District Council prohibited the taking away of the primrose roots, but in 
no way interfered with the picking of the flowers, and in the springtime these 
woods must certainly be a beautiful sight. 
In the course of a walk along the hedgerows of a pea-field one afternoon, I 
disturbed some partridges that were feeding among the peas. So suddenly did I 
come upon them that one, more frightened than the rest, took refuge in the 
undergrowth of the ditch and kept cover for some time after. This field I found 
to be a regular resort ot partridges and wood-pigeons, who managed between them 
to do considerable damage to the crop. 
37, Alwytie Villas, Chas. E. J. Hannett. 
Canonbury, Al. 
