184 
NATURE NOTES 
having what appears to be a playful encounter. It is nothing of 
the kind, but a grim battle of wits and struggle, meaning death 
to one of the apparent friends. The leveret — for it is nothing 
more — ever faces its adversary, and the lithe stoat gambols 
around trying to get behind it, for its fatal spring on the back of 
the head. As they drift nearer the hedge, in your anxiety to see 
them you unconsciously press on the gate, and the latch gives an 
ominous “ click.” The animals are both attracted, and perceive 
your unwanted presence at the same instant. The hare, taking 
advantage of the stoat’s momentary pre-occupation, dashes off at 
full speed to the other side of the pasture, and, clearing the 
stream at a bound, saves its life. The stoat, meanwhile, looks 
after itself, and two huge leaps take it into the cover of the 
hedgerow. This is a difficult matter to note. Here, however, 
is mine : “ Stoat and Hare — S[toat’s] antics to get behind H [are] . — 
Touch gate and interrupt." This scribble was noted down behind 
the next fence, while a sharp look-out was kept on the opposite 
hedge into which the stoat had retired. I was not disappointed. 
He was soon in the open again, and as quickly picked up and 
followed the leveret’s trail to the brookside. I followed on the 
other side of the fence in the next field, and kept him under 
observation till he reached the top of the bank. A sudden 
crouch to obtain better foothold, followed by a five-foot leap, and 
a sad tragedy of nature is told by a cock blackbird flying screech- 
ing away. On reaching the bank top, the stoat saw within reach 
below a pair of flirting blackbirds, which must have moved up 
(or down) stream in their dalliance, after the hare had passed. 
They would have been on the look-out had they seen the hare’s 
wide leap. As it was, they must have been too busy with their 
courting to have looked out for danger from above. The hare 
was forgotten by the stoat, and the hen blackbird secured, on the 
principle that “ a bird under the paws is worth a hare in the 
open.” Here is our note: “Stoat and Hare — Sequel. S [toat] 
returns — follows H [are’s] track — at brook secures — blackbird leaping — 
down bank." 
Such notes fulfil the purpose for which they are made. They 
recall to the mind the important circumstances of each observa- 
tion. Years after by their aid you can recall the scene. In a 
morning’s walk in winter there may be no more than a score of 
such things to note ; there were about that number the day these 
notes were made. In the same walk in summer time, if you be 
a botanist, and take soil, locality, and frequency into considera- 
tion, the hand and brain would alike weary before one half of 
what might be observed could be noted down. All depends on 
the time you have at disposal for such work, and the gift for 
observation you possess. The gift of seeing develops with the 
use, especially when the exercise becomes a portion of a man’s 
life study. 
When the home is reached once again, the notes are in 
exactly the same order in which they were made. They are at 
