The truth of one of the oldest of country tags
has been well illustrated this January : " As the day lengthens, the cold strengthens " ; but perhaps even the maker of it, whose wit focussed the wisdom of many, did not realise that this com- bination of length and strength makes life supremely hard for birds and the smaller mammals. They normally grow hungrier and increase their appetite as the days stretch out. So it comes to pass that the hardship of life is more or less 'proportionate to the lateness of the date when frost and snow descend on us. It is my experience in feeding birds that they are greedier for their crumbs or fat or what not in spring— even if the weather is open—than in winter. Much more is this so when spring sets in severely. Birds only feed when it is light, and continue to feed so Jong as it is light. It has lately been proved in regard to domestic hens that if their " intensive houses" are lit electrically in winter evenings they lay more eggs (over 20 per cent. more) and cat more food. Sa it is with wild birds. Cold, or starvation plus cold, which would do them little harm in late December, kills them in February.
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