42 NATURE IN DOWNLAND 



it may be blue and yellow, or red and white, or a 

 mixture of all colours. 



Another marked difference between the true native 

 flora of the turf, and these intruders which have 

 become natives, is in the longer life, or at all events 

 more lasting freshness, of the former. Except in very 

 dry seasons, when the intense heat burns the hills 

 brown, the turf is always green and blossoming from 

 March to October. The colonising grasses and herbs 

 are at their best in May and June. 



A noteworthy fact about these wild chance -made 

 gardens scattered far and wide over the downs is that, 

 besides their variety and beauty, there is in some a 

 singularity which adds to their attractiveness, and 

 causes them to be vividly remembered afterwards. 

 This is not solely caused by the contrast of patches 

 or islands of vegetation unlike that about it, which 

 gives it something of an exotic appearance, but also 

 by colour effects not often seen. Some of the prettiest 

 effects are found on spots where it may be said that 

 "nothing grows" nothing, that is to say, from the 

 agriculturist's and the shepherd's points of view; 

 where there is an exceedingly thin soil on summits 

 and high slopes, and the plough having once broken 

 up and ruined the ancient turf has made the ground 

 barren for ever. Two such spots I will describe. 



On one the thin poor soil was of a fine red colour, 

 thinly overgrown with an extraordinary variety of 

 plants, with fine wiry stems and few and scanty leaves, 



