I 198 
SELBORNIANA. 
Mowing Machines. — These implements are often most cruelly destructive 
to animal life. I saw a very sad sight a week or so ago — that of a young pheasant 
just in the act of hatching her brood when the machine cut off one leg, killed all 
the young birds and broke the remainder of the eggs. The hen bird flew a few 
yards and died from the effects. A short distance away in the same field a hen 
partridge was killed on her nest and the eggs destroyed. A red-legged or French 
partridge was sitting near but out of the way of the machine, and this beautiful bird 
took off her brood. A stoat near having a litter of young had not interfered with 
this bird, but near the haunt was a young partridge and a young rabbit partly 
eaten. Rabbits are often cut to pieces with mowing machines. 
J. lilAM. 
The Closing of Footpaths. — There are at least two sides to every 
rjuestion, even to the closing of footpaths. I send an extract from a letter which 
I have lately received from a lady who is very fond of the country, and who is at 
present staying in Yorkshire. All that can be said is, that it behoves all 
Selbornians, by precept and example, to discourage conduct which is not only 
disgraceful in itself, but, wherever it was common, would go far to justify 
acts on the part of land-owners which are liable to interfere with the enjoy- 
ment of innocent people and to be described as wantonly oppressive, whereas 
they may be almost necessary acts of self-defence. It is no use attempt- 
ing to conceal the whole truth about these matters — in fact, -Selbornians would 
simply be injuring their own cause by attempting to do so. 
W. F. Kirby. 
“Tourists are very thoughtless people ; the dalesmen do not approve of them 
— so many leave gates open, and cattle and sheep wander and go into fields where 
they ought not. .Such people little imagine the trouble and expense they wantonly 
cause farmers. On Saturday a farmer civilly asked two ladies (?) kindly to shut 
gates after them. They left every one open! His .sheep strayed, a field was 
damaged, and he had to go a long way over the fell to seek his sheep, which 
were mixed with some others. Such conduct is very shameful.” 
The Sparrow. — Those interested in the sparrow question will do well to 
apply to Miss Ormerod, Torrington House, St. Albans, enclosing a penny stamp 
for a pamphlet she has lately written upon the subject. We purposely refrain 
from expressing any opinion on the matter, as we cannot open our pages to a 
discussion on the sparrow ; but Miss Ormerod’s statement of the position 
undoubtedly deserves attention. 
Wanton Destruction of Natural Beauty. — “The church and burial 
ground of St. Mary’s, Stoke Newington, date back to the seventeenth century, 
and the trees which almost concealed the old church from the adjoining highway 
of Church Street have for years been the pride and admiration of the older 
inhabitants of the parish. There is a clock in the church tower, and at a recent 
parish meeting the rector was asked to have the ancient trees lopped, so that 
|)assers-by could see the time. The rector (the Rev. I’rebcndary Shelford) 
declined to accede to the request. Last week during the absence of the rector at 
the funeral of the Bishop of Wakefield, a number of roadmen in the employ of 
the vestry took posse.ssion of the burial ground and lopped the trees in a most 
astonishing fashion. The matter came before the vestry late on Tuesday night, 
when Mr. J. J. Runtr, J.P. (the vicar’s churchwarden), asked by whose authority 
the work of “destruction” had been carried out. The trees, he said, had been 
hacked in such a manner that they could not possibly recover their pristine 
beauty during the lifetime of any of the members jiresent. The magnificent row 
of limes at the entrance to Clissold Park were now unrecognisable. Prebendary 
Shelford (the rector) said it was not by his authority that the trees had been cut. 
He believed that a distinctly illegal act had been done, but no amount of 
damages could comjien.sate for the loss of beauty to the district. The matter 
was referred to a committee for further inquiry .” — Daily Chronicle. 
