NATURE'S EVER NEW GLORY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22955, 5 February 1938, Page 4 (Supplement)

NATURE'S EVER NEW GLORY

Mystery and Charm

By j.f.h.

IT is not altogether pleasant to have brought home to us the realisation of how much we see and how little we know. Yet, Englishmen and those others who have learned something of the mature beauty of their homeland —the even flow of its seasons, the glory of its countryside—owe tc Air. Eric Parker, naturalist, sportsman and gardener, a debt of gratitude for pointing out with delicacy and rare charm things they have not noticed or were never taught. Tp say that "The Country Year" is a call to the appreciation of simple things would be a trite description of a book that is as full of sparkle and as steeped in mystery as the very countryside which it so effectively portrays and intefprets. No Technicalities Mr. Parker is to be congratulated for his obvious dislike of the too-fre-quent inanities of generalised description, just as much as he deserves commendation for his disregartl of the technicalities with which a naturalist's book might well be strewn. In fact, his strength is his simplicity —whether he is telling you of the moving sound of country bells tolling in the New Year, the joys of village cricket, the individuality of birds or the enchantment of the wintry gales. There is excitement in the feel of the first salmon of the year on his line and crowded moments when the grouse come swinging over the butt. These are things to conjure up memories of some of the most pleasant adventures in life;

Mr. Parker's keen observance is best revealed in the little-known facts he related of animal and bird life. To him, each feathered family has a significance and a place in seasonal change; each is fastidious, almost human it would seem, in its likos, fears, affections and habits. How many know that tho swift uses only one wing at a time ? And what of the riddle of the mole? How does he build his strong nest, choosing the neighbourhood of water for his fortress but not for his runs?. He has never beeb seen to drink, but be will , even eat his otvn brother if caught in ■ a trap. And, in passing, we learn, to the regret of those of us who are fascinated bv rural tradition, that Thatchers, rat-catchers and mole-catchers are old country trades that now find apprentices. But, when the town offers unemployment doles or higher wages than the farmer can pay, who m the country is to trouble to learn from ins grandfather ? "Does a Wood-pecker Peck?"

And, does the wood-pecker peck? Paradox though it may sfeem, this is still a subject of controversy, no complete answer having boon given to the question. The statement is often confidently made that the sound is produced "bv the bird hammering his bill on a hollow branch but Mr. Parker, after carefully weighing the evidence of / naturalists, says ho cannot reject the statements that at no time has the beak been seen near the wood. There can be little doubt, he says, that the pound is vocal. ' The countryside still hojds its great store of mysteries. With our libraries weighed with tales of man's progress, it is refreshing- to learn of these mysteries and to be brought back to something that is so pleasantly calm and regular. To have succeeded in this task is an achievement for Mr. Parker. "The Country Year." by Erio Parker. (Seeley Service.)