this country all
the year, and is more abundant in plantations and parks where there
are plenty of trees. It makes its nest in a hollow tree, or on the
inner side of the bark of a decayed one. The little bird lays many
eggs, from six to nine, in the month of April; they are nearly white,
with a few pinkish spots, generally at the larger end of the egg. It
utters a few pleasing but feeble notes. The young ones are, as you may
suppose, tiny little things. You should notice the curved pointed beak
of this bird, and the stiff tail-feathers it presses against the tree
as a fulcrum to aid it in its ascent.

[Illustration: TREE-CREEPER AND YOUNG.]

We will go into this adjoining field, which will soon be ready to mow.
We will keep by the hedge--for it would not be right to trample down
the tall grass--and gather a few grasses. Few people know more about
grass than that it is good pasturage for cattle and sheep. Let us
gather a lot, and take care, as far as we can, to gather only one kind
each. How graceful and beautiful they are, and what difference there
is amongst them; some have a stiff spike-like head of flowers, others
have pretty drooping heads; some are harsh and rough to the touch,
others soft as satin. Some, again, are of great value as pasturage and
for making into hay; others are positively noxious weeds. You know the
twitch or couch grass, that gives the farmer so much trouble; it is
most rapid in its growth and difficult to kill; its underground
creeping stems spread in all directions, and, if left to itself, would
soon take sole possession of the whole soil. So the farmers are very
careful to rake together all they can; they then collect it in heaps
and burn it. Here is the rough "cocksfoot grass," with its head or
"panicle" as it is called, upright and tufted. Look at its large
yellow stamens; it is a very productive species and enters largely
into all hay-grass. Here is the common quaking grass, with its
slender, smooth, spreading branches. See how the numerous little heads
tremble with the slightest motion; we do not see much of it in these
meadows. It is an exceedingly pretty grass, and often seen on the
chimney-pieces of cottagers, but is by no means a valuable
agricultural grass; on the contrary, it is a sign, when abundant, of
poor land.

[Illustration: PANICLE OF GRASS.]

Here we have the smooth-stalked meadow grass, and here is the hedge
wood-melic grass, with its slightly drooping panicle, and spi