MOORLANDS OF THE BORDER 7 



peat during that month, and the heather shows no sign 

 of change from the black and lifeless hue it had assumed 

 in October, till we reach the period which, by the almanac, 

 should be called summer. For these, in short — that is 

 to say, for the whole plant-world — Spring is simply non- 

 existent ; or, if the expression be preferred, their awaken- 

 ing is postponed till summer. With the higher forms 

 of life, as stated, it is different. The moor-birds arrive, 

 pair, nest, and hatch their young without reference to 

 climatic conditions ; and many a moorland chick first 

 sees the light in an atmosphere and amid circumstances 

 which would seem necessarily fatal to its tender life. 

 Small wonder that the vast majority of the strong- 

 winged birds — such as the ducks, geese, waders, and 

 other wildfowl — should prefer the Arctic regions for their 

 breeding-grounds. There may be those to whom the 

 words still cause a shudder, and who only associate 

 these regions with thick-ribbed ice, with intense cold, 

 and manifold forms of death. There are, no doubt, 

 plenty of these things in the Arctic ; but it is not all 

 ice up there, nor is it always cold, for I have noticed 

 a temperature of 79°, with clouds of dancing midges, 

 in the 80th degree. True, the Polar summer is short, 

 but it can boast three months of continuous sunlight, 

 and there are, moreover, within the Arctic, unmeasured 

 regions of moor, moss, and marsh abounding in plant- 

 and insect-life. Such conditions compare favourably 

 with the spring climate of our temperate zone. 



But I must not do injustice to the season, and would 

 be drawing too gloomy a picture of the North British 

 spring-time if I omitted to mention the few spells of 

 bright and warm days which, at uncertain intervals, do 

 occur to break the monotony of even the most incle- 



