iS 
NATURE NOTES. 
that they were preserving a space which should be kept in its 
rural beauty for those who were least able to get far away into 
the real country, and who wished for something more uncon- 
ventional and quieter than the London Park.” 
A portion of the land, known as East Heath Park, has come 
into the possession of the London County Council. Before it 
became public property a wide road had been begun by the 
proprietor, when he was contemplating the letting of the land 
for building : but it was never completed, and was covered with 
grass. “ What was the amazement of those who knew the spot 
to find that the first act of the London County Council was to 
give orders for carrying this wide road to either extremity of the 
new land, to prolong it at both ends over the heath, and to 
widen a small agricultural road — practically little more than a 
footpath. This road is now daily being continued ; it leads to 
no populous district, it connects not even one group of houses 
with the Heath. Yet the devastation it is causing is pitiable to 
see. The wild beaut}' of nature is destroyed by a formal black, 
wide road; the soft slopes of turf are cut away — a formal foot- 
path runs parallel to it. Stakes are to be seen across the 
Heath, marking out where it is proposed to carry even further 
the ghastly length of desolate road.” 
It is to be hoped that the strong local protest which is 
being made may avert what is nothing less than a catastrophe, 
and certainly the very reverse of what those who subscribed to 
purchase the ground had in view. We heartily support Miss 
Octavia Hill in her protest, and only regret that our space will 
not allow us to reproduce this in full. The following are its 
concluding sentences. 
“ At much sacrifice this land has been rescued from building. 
Let us do what we can to preserve it in its full beauty. It is a 
mistake to think that rural scenery is enjoyed only by the artist 
and literary man. Many working people have a keen appre- 
ciation of it, even some who would find it hard to put the 
impression into words. There are plenty of places for those 
who love broad roads. This land was purchased mainly for the 
pedestrians of all classes. It is too small to be traversed by 
roads, which would cut it into fragments.” 
THE RECORDING OF LOCAL NAMES AND 
FOLK-LORE. 
T only are animals and plants disappearing in various 
parts of our land, but the quaint old legends concern- 
ing them, the ancient superstitions which throw so 
much light on Comparative Mythology, the fanciful 
and often poetical Local Names — all these, valuable almost as 
the subjects they commemorate, are rapidly dying out. We 
