FLOWERS OF THE WOODS AND COPSES 7 



its petals intact. In hazel copses in the south we shall find with good 

 fortune the Green Hellebore. An oak wood carpeted with Bluebells 

 in spring, and clad in a rich russet coat of bracken in autumn, where 

 rocky knolls abound, is the place for the Columbine. A shade-lover, 

 the Sweet Violet adds richly to the heavy perfume of the woods, 

 aromatic already with the smell of humus, leaf-mould, and resin, per- 

 chance, from the pines. A new setting is conveyed by the bright 

 pink masses of Red Campion blooms which give a bright colour to the 

 green depths around. The Linden, when summer is at its zenith, is 

 like attar of roses to the bees which hover amid its boughs on honey 

 intent. Wood Sorrel is here the sensitive plant of the woods, by some 

 called Shamrock. It luxuriates in the sides of a mossy leafy dell. 



Holly makes thick coverts for the pheasants on stony banks. The 

 Wild Cherry dangles its " whitehearts " in the wooded seclusion, fit 

 treasures for the birds. Open banks in the glades are spread with 

 luscious fruits of the Wild Strawberry by Midsummer Eve. The grey 

 undersides of the leaves in the well-roofed shelters of White Beam 

 flicker in the breeze, thus revealing themselves. Close by Mountain 

 Ash spreads wide mealy panicles of white flowers, ready for the 

 autumn's promise of a rich red feast for the woodland tribes. 



On the open rocky slopes in the woods the rose-purple clumps of 

 bloom of the Rosebay enliven the grey-clad stony banks. Beneath 

 the dripping oaks the lowly Enchanter's Nightshade and Sanicle hide 

 with retiring modesty. Along the pathways through the woods rise 

 the noble umbels of Angelica, with spreading foliage. Ivy clings to 

 the Oak like a parasite upon some scion of a noble house. Wayfaring- 

 Tree fills the damp hollows forming dense coverts by the decoys. 

 Clambering up the stem of Hawthorn, or bole of Oak or Ash, the 

 Honeysuckle or Sweet Eglantine disperses sweet perfume in the night. 

 Woodruff, too, in the daytime makes the air heavy with the odour of 

 new-mown hay. 



A sulphur hue is lent by the sweet-tinted Primrose, which finds 

 shade and safety in the woodland depths. Wood Loosestrife or Yellow 

 Pimpernel trails delicately over the damper soil. The Small Peri- 

 winkle brings again to the woods the colours of the deep-blue skies, 

 and the versicolorous Lungwort is as gay here as in the long borders 

 in the garden. In sheltered, open glades a wide patch of Wood 

 Forget-me-not makes the woods blue, and so choice a beauty is not so 

 soon forgot. 



The tall spikes, with spotted blooms of the Foxglove into which 

 the humble bees come and take their toll, stand gracefully on the 



