RURAL CALENDARS.
On the whole our country people are conservative of old customs. Villagers still " beat the bounds " or play com- munal football, as in Lincolnshire, or act rough plays on Twelfth Night ; but the disappearances have been very numerous in the last few years, and we need a chronicler who will tell us where the survivals are to be found, to the end of maintaining the precedent. Where- do villagers still drag round the plough ? Lammas' Day, though still of some importance, has been almost forgotten even in parishes owning a fair amount of "Lammas land." We are perhaps making history in the country as well as forgetting it. • There is good prospect that a tree-planting day will take root— its date may be November 11—and we have our poppy day ; but I doubt whether any purely local ritual is in formation anywhere.
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