THE HEATHER 



'65 



shrub. It trails. Were the stems stiff enough 

 to stand upright, it would present the appear- 

 ance of a dense thicket, through which path- 

 ways up the mountain-side w r ould have to be 

 cut. I disentangle one, and pull it out to its full 



Its stature is three feet. 



height. 



common name Ling, 



Ling is the Highland 



Perhaps it is most 

 popularly known 

 cies amid which 

 wade knee-deep, - 

 unconscious of 

 for many 

 their 

 for 



Hence its 

 or Long, 

 heather, 

 widely and 

 as the spe- 

 visitors 

 and totally 

 fatigue, 

 hours, in 

 eager search 

 white heather, 

 tented, if, in 

 evening, they 

 back ever so 

 It appears as the 



con- 



the 



bring 



little. 



breezy title to one of William Black's freshest 



novels. In this way it may be distinguished 



from the purple in the heatherology of those 



who before were ignorant of its existence. 



Pinks and kindred colours growing at any 

 considerable height have a tendency to bleach into 



