COUNTRY LIFE

Spring v. Sport Spring opens, officially, on March 21st. It is of course a date arrived at astronomically ; but our earth is tied to the stars and-sun ; and in England spring opens suitably with burgeoning buds, with birds' eggs, with the birth or engender- ing of young. Doubtless animals and plants differ in their ways, in their times and seasons. The raven hatches its eggs before the swallow arrives and the young otter is born a month or two before the fox cub ; but with the advent of April most buds burgeon and most animals breed ; the does of all hunted animals are heavy with young or have produced young. Since this is so I believe that almost all zoologists, almost all observers of wild life, who are not dominated by a superior love of hunt- ing, feel that the chase is out of date in spring. The season closes too late—in otter-hunting, hare-hunting, stag-hunting, fox-hunting and perhaps the shooting of snipe and woodcock. Stag-hunting in the New Forest in late April is one of the most stirring and spectacularly beautiful sights any pageant-maker could devise ; but nevertheless and notwithstanding spring does not accord with the pleasure of hunting and killing stag ar hind norany other live creature. Our open seasons do not close early enough. In some places the hunt is still up in the merry month of May.

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Breeding Dates

Just when animals breed does not seem to be a fact of common knowledge. Opinions differ most about the hare, even among country people. Some afforesters, whose proceedings I watched with close interest, had an experience that surprised them all, including the keepers. It was necessary for the sake of the new young trees to clear the area of all hares and rabbits. Rabbits of course may breed in any month of the year. In this last severe winter young rabbits were actively engaged (in eating rare plants) at the opening of February. Hares are more regular and less promiscuous ; and it was not expected by the afforesters to find well-grown leverets in the third week of February. A question often disputed and not uniformly stated in the text-books was proved on the same occasion : the hare's normal litter is four or five, though it is extremely rare to find so many young in one place for the reason that the doe does not believe in putting all her eggs in one basket. Even the rabbit, which is a noted expert in concealing its nest, is not more skilful than the hare in hiding her brood.

* * * Where Hares Flourish

Research is being made into the best method of destroying the rabbit, which is described as a universal plague ; but some countries are quite free. One of these is Argentina. You find there (as in New Zealand) an astonishing number of the European hare, which seems to breed more freely than with us, and in spite of the openness of the country to conceal its young with success both from man and hawk. They seemed to me to be on the average rather bigger than our hares, but did not attain the astounding weights of the New Zealand hares. That wonderful country is often gargantuan in plant as well as animal. The red deer, which had to be treated as vermin by the afforesters of the North Island, grow very big on both islands, whenever they come down to the plains. As for the fish, they are scarcely recognisable, though from time to time their average size has diminished owing to their multitude. It has been found necessary in some of the lakes to net thousands solely for the purpose of letting the others grow. It is a rare experience for the hare to multiply till it becomes a nuisance ; but there are examples, in New Zealand, in Argentina and even in Norfolk. From the point of view of the gardener one hare may amount to a plague, owing to the animal's passion for all the tribe of carnation !

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Bud-Eating Birds

A very large number of enquiries have reached me from many quarters on the subject of the protection of buds from birds by the use of sprays. The birds are most destructive of buds before the buds break and while still it is possible to use sprays which would be fatal if the buds were open. Almost any winter spray tends to discourage birds. Certainly lime- sulphur does, and, I think, tar distillates ; but it is a recent

experience that a very small addition of Jeyes' fluid may altogether repel the birds for a period. A mixture that I,: recommended (for example, by the C.G.A.) is one part of Jeyes and one part of lime sulphur to ninety-eight parts of water. Something in this disinfectant is hostile to the senses of animals—and indeed the life of some of them. The Board Of Greenkeeping Research recommend a mixture of it with a* form of benzol for killing leather-jackets (whose depredations on the greens at Rye once nearly reduced Mr. Bernard Darwin to tears). Keepers in my neighbourhood use a strong mixture of paraffin and this fluid for expelling rabbits from their holes ; and neither rats nor mice nor rabbits will readily cross a string dipped in it. How long the efficacy abides is a question that needs testing. A bit of rag dipped in the mixture will not only keep rabbits out of their hole for three or four days (though no longer), but if inserted at the wrong time in good strength it will on occasion keep them penned within their holes ; they do not like to cross the nasty smell.

Spraying Dates It is a general experience, as I have said, that any winter- spray discourages the bud-eating birds ; but individual experi- menters vary in their judgement on various sprays (of which one or two may be quoted). One finds the tar distillates effective in this regard. Another that a mixture of crude oil and paraffin is a very much stronger deterrent. Another finds lime-sulphur (which is perhaps the most popular of sprays) discourages birds and that it is virtually sovereign if a very small percentage of Jeyes is added. Birds (which a Devon correspondent says have been peculiarly greedy of buds this season) as a rule do most damage while still these winter sprays can be used ; and for the discouragement of birds the latest dates, suggested by the specialists in each spray, are therefore probably the best. A very small pro- portion of Jeyes is advised in all cases and the later the spraying the smaller the dose, for the disinfectant is powerful. Its effect passes off rather soon, but birds once repelled do not or may not return. Certainly in no case would it affect the buds of flowers when sprayed or in any way discourage bees and other insects which help to fertilise the blossom.

Rural Baskets

The revival in trade, about which all our serious economists congratulate our world, has reached the rural craftsman. Of all rural crafts basket-making, which is widely spread and is essentially rural in nature, has been under a cloud. Prices are still low ; but the basket workers have been co-operating under that wise and ingenious body the Rural Industries Bureau. They have met in London ; enjoyed what they call in the United States a get-together. The makers of market farm baskets are now a limited Society. The results promise well. In a more general reference the vast public seems to be completely ignorant how to procure the work of these and other rural craftsmen ; and you must know the product before you know how superior and lasting its quality is. There are Carnarvonshire fruit baskets. There are also Sussex Trugs that defy time. The Bureau is not a selling agency. It exists largely to give expert help, especially in design, to suggest useful developments such as oxy-acetylene welding (which has been a great success in many smithies) and to aid in general publicity ; but any who wish to buy rural work—in iron, wood, wool, leather or what not—can find out where to get it by application to the Bureau at 6 Bayley Street, W.C. 1, or in regard to many crafts by taking in the quarterly magazine which costs no less than twopence.

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Quick Spring

We have seldom seen spring respond quite so rapidly to its own date. It was as if the vernal solstice pulled a trigger. The daffodils began to catch up the crocuses. The leaves of most early bushes as daphne and viburnum fragrans began to conceal the flowers. The ground became suddenly gay with primrose and eelandine, and every " maze of quick " new green. Spring was most precisely dated.

W. BEACH THOMAS.