COUNTRY LIFE
ENGLISH weather is, of course, unpredictable, a thing of shreds ant patches, of samples, of sudden sallies; but a few prophecies may be mach with some confidence. One is that heavy thunderstorms in late summa will "lay " a certain amount of corn .and cause the loss of a certair number, of young partridges. This year by happy timing a very 'arm number of farmers cut their grain just before the storms fell and most of them noticed that the large coveys of partridges flushed during harvest operations were strong enough to face the weather. The north was in a different case. Grouse bred unusually late in many districts owing to the disastrous effects of a late snowfall ; and unfortunately misled by their experience in the south legislators advanced the close season by twelve days. It was not a wise interference. The twelfth of August should have been left to its proper eminence; and all our close seasons (as we have now confessed in regard to duck) are rather too early than too late. Happily, in the south that old triple crime of shooting a pheasant on a September Sunday in standing corn will scarcely be possible. There will be no standing corn on the First. On a journey through the Midlands on August Bank Holiday I calculated that three-quarters of the corn and all the beans were already cut and I saw only one field of grain that looked in the least green.
A Foster Parent In a recent thunderstorm a goldfinch's nest built in a wistaria against the house was knocked sideways and the four young birds tilted out. The distressed parents came to the rescue and successfully—it is thought— carried away three of the young. One was left, and its plight was observed by the owners of the house and they were alarmed to see a sparrow continually advancing on the deserted fledgling. At first they attempted to drive off the intruder; but presently perceived that she was a maternal or humanitarian bird, bringing food to the alien. Up to date she has con- tinued to feed the single young goldfinch as fondly as if it were her own chick. One would like to know whether the hen sparrow had lost her own babes in the storm; but the impulse to feed the young even of other species may be strong as we see in the case of the young cuckoo, which is on occasion fed by other birds than the foster parent after if leaves the nest.
More Immigrants
In recording a rare event in insect immigration a misprint in nomen- clature was allowed to pass. The insect in question was the very rare stripel (sic), Hawkmoth. This year it has surpassed all the records. Some 34o have been seen and 97 captured. They appeared chiefly (probably coming from Spain and North Africa) in the neighbourhood of St. Mawes and Boscastle, but one was taken at York and one at Belfast on June 1st and May 3oth. A suggested cause is the drought of two months duration in and about Lisbon. A delightful postcard and an illustrated booklet— in colour—of British Immigrant moths are printed by the 13ritish Museum (natural history). It has been pointed out by the pioneers in the South Eastern Union of Scientific Societies that the density of some of the immigrations—classed as Snowstorms—may amount to " five millions per mile of front per hour." It sounds incredible.
In the Garden As an established rebel against the hard pruning of roses, as carried to its usual excess, I rejoice to 'tee that so-called " long-pruning " is now becoming an accepted method and growing rapidly into favour, as a number of comments bear witness. Many of us wish that the nursery- men would grow more roses on their own roots. The sucker is a very difficult offence to deal with; and the threat of it is unnecessary in many varieties of rose. Poulsen polyanthuses, for example, in my garden do as well from cuttings as when budded op briars, though perhaps they are a little lower in stature; and this is on the whole an advantage. In the vegetable garden a wise war-time duty is to sow turnips at this date on ground vacated by peas or early potatoes. They stand the winter well and would be very useful come March. Most gardeners perhaps are too closely bound to traditional . seasons, and are apt to regard spinach as the one vegetable that may be sown at any old time. It is certainly accommodating and very hardy; but so are many others. The English autution is, as a rule, singularly like spring in regard to germination, and protection against winter excesses is not difficult.
W. BEACH THOMAS.
The fact that goods made of raw materials in short supply owing to war conditions are advertised in this tournal should not be taken as an indication that they are necessarily available for export.
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