After the man had returned to the camp, he gave me some interesting particulars of their work, and said the reason for using green wood is that the flowers retain the form imparted to them in the cutting if they are made from the green stuff and allowed to dry. He stated also that they had to make the best they could of daylight, for the work by candle light was extremely trying for the eyes; he had, himself, at one time worked by candle light a good deal, but found he would lose his sight if he persisted in it: he said, moreover, that by sitting closely at work, he was able, single-handed, to make and complete a gross of flowers in one day. In the course of our conversation upon all sorts of topics there was frequent evidence that—despite his lack of scientific knowledge—he was very much interested in all natural objects. He described, pretty minutely, a curious nest of wasps he had observed, “about as big as a cricket-ball,[3] hanging from a ‘hurt’ bush,”[4] and related how a grass snake which had come into the tent, took possession of a sleeve of his coat that happened to be lying on the ground; he also spoke of rats in the strawberry country and stated that his “missis” was awakened one night by a rat nibbling her hair; this is not to be in the least discredited, for in the same locality I once saw in one evening, within a space of fifty yards, no less than five large rats running across a lane towards or from gypsy encampments to which these rodents had probably been attracted by the potato skins, bits of crust and other waste food lying around. [Illustration: THE MAKER OF TOY CHAIRS.] This man was also a skewer-maker—escunye-mengro,—but said there was practically no demand for them now, metal skewers being so much used, and added, that as a matter of fact he never made them now unless he had a special request for them. “You haven’t seen mother to-day, have you?” he questioned, and without waiting for my reply, added— “Come over to her tent, the old lady’s making chairs and I’m sure she’ll be glad to see you.”