64 NATURE NEAR LONDON 



was spoiled, the farmers ruined, but their fields were one 

 broad expanse of flower. 



As that spring was one of the wettest, so that of the 

 year in present view was one of the driest, and hence the 

 plantation between the lane and the brook was accessible, 

 the sedges and flags short, and the sedge-birds visible. 

 There is a beech in the plantation standing so near the 

 verge of the stream that its boughs droop over. It has 

 a number of twigs around the stem as a rule the beech- 

 bole is clear of boughs, but some which are of rather 

 stunted growth are fringed with them. The leaves on 

 the longer boughs above fall off and voyage down the 

 brook, but those on the lesser twigs beneath, and only a 

 little way from the ground, remain on, and rustle, dry and 

 brown, all through the winter. 



Under the shelter of these leaves, and close to the 

 trunk, there grew a plant of flag the tops of the flags 

 almost reached to the leaves and all the winter through, 

 despite the frosts for which it was remarkable, despite the 

 snow and the bitter winds which followed, this plant 

 remained green and fresh. From this beech in the 

 morning a shadow stretches to a bridge across the brook, 

 and in that shadow my trout used to lie. The bank 

 under the drooping boughs forms a tiny cliff a foot high, 

 covered with moss, and here I once observed shrew 

 mice diving and racing about. But only once, though I 

 frequently passed the spot ; it is curious that I did not 

 see them afterwards. 



Just below the shadow of the beech there is a sandy, 

 oozy shore, where the footprints of moorhens are often 

 traceable. Many of the trees of the plantation stand in 

 water after heavy rain ; their leaves drop into it in autumn, 

 and, being away from the influence of the current, stay 

 and soak, and lie several layers thick. Their edges 



