The four season of a conservationist (original) (raw)
Spring in Malta starts somewhat earlier than it does in the more northerly regions of Europe. The first tiny flowers bloom in February and a general awakening of Nature happens in a rising crescendo throughout the month of March; the country rambler may be suddenly surprised by a migrating wave of butterflies sweeping majestically in a long straddling line across the fields. Birds are far more plentiful, flocks of linnets abound (and so does their trapping), swallows and martins glide in the shallow depressions of our valleys and the waders are far more evident. But the more signi•ficant change is the sudden burst into song of the passerines, especially by warblers, the blue reck thrush and the corn bunting. The more gentle day temperature may have a lot to do with all this, but subtly we are all urged into a more generous mood, a more open and franker disposition and, one hopes, a clearer discernment of the beneficia-] balance engendered so prolifically by Nature. On second reflection no discovery is more repugnant and more saddening than to find lurking among all this living abundance the dark tall shadow of Man the wanton destroyer, the ultimate embodiment of intelligence, capable of indil!erent but methodical annihilation and supremely incapable of replacing a single butterfly from that long straddling line crossing the green fields. This is the basic aberration all conservationists are up against-for indeed it is an aberration which we need paint no darker than it really is-and as consequence, the trend of progress is all in our favour.
Sign up for access to the world's latest research.
checkGet notified about relevant papers
checkSave papers to use in your research
checkJoin the discussion with peers
checkTrack your impact
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.