BLOODSHED IN NATURE 173 
a common thing for the females to select mates who 
have displayed superior strength, and many a love- 
affair is settled through “‘ trial by combat.” 
You think there is a terrible amount of blood- 
shed in Nature? As the poet said, “ Nature is red 
in tooth and claw.” Even plants fight. But there 
is a good amount of co-operation in Nature too. A 
few miles from here there is a colony of Black-headed 
Gulls (Larus ridibundus). Thousands of them make 
their nests and rear their families on a little island 
in the middle of a good-sized lake. They are massed 
together in a perfect crowd, and when an enemy 
approaches he is completely outnumbered, and 
easily driven off by a large company of the Gulls. 
They say that “‘ Birds of a feather flock together,” 
and this is extensively true ; the flock may quarrel 
among themselves, but they are as one man when 
attacked by a commonenemy. At any rate, human 
beings, with their intelligence, should not take 
example from the savagery of the lower animals ; on 
the other hand, they should learn the good lesson 
of co-operation which Nature teaches, and live 
together in brotherliness and good-will. 
Listen to the Skylarks (Alauda arvensis)! I hear 
several singing within a short distance of one another. 
Like us, they are enjoying the good weather and 
taking advantage of the sunshine. It is remarkable 
how sunshine and blue skies draw the songs out of 
our hearts; and, on the other hand, how storms 
appeal to our strength, and give us a stern deter- 
mination to overcome difficulties. The folk of the 
‘Sunny South ” are a tuneful people ; but the men 
of the Highlands, who see Nature in her frowning 
