62 WILD FLOWERS OF SCOTLAND 



dull glow of whin under the deep shadow of the 

 fir needles. In such a situation, with its downward 

 tending roots, the broom would starve or be stunted 

 and easily torn up. 



The sandy stretch of links around our coasts is 

 the domain of the whin, occasionally shared by a 

 clump of fir trees. Seldom or never is this area 

 invaded by the broom. Round St. Andrews we 

 have abundance of whin, with some fir trees, but 

 not a single broom bush. And this is fairly repre- 

 sentative of similar scenes elsewhere. The glow at 

 the seaside, so pleasant in the cool sunshine, so 

 suggestive of a day among the bents with club and 

 ball, is still a comparatively dull glow. It is the 

 glow of whin. Anyone who has seen whin and 

 broom growing together will never mistake the 

 one for the other. 



The inland yellow is the yellow of broom. It is 

 that which touches spring with masses and patches 

 of colour. It is that which lights up our sweet, 

 fresh country-sides. It is that which marks out 

 the curved line of beauty of the burns, with their 

 suggestions of rising trout. It is that which 

 washes itself twice a day in the April showers, and 

 then shines out in the April sunshine. 



No wildling blossoms so freely as the broom, 



