The Open Air 



out, where a tree has been felled by the gales, by 

 the brook where the bank is worn away, or by the 

 sediment at the shallow places. Before the grass 

 and weeds, and corn and flowers have hidden it, 

 the character of the soil is evident at these natural 

 sections without the aid of a spade. Going slowly 

 along the footpath indeed you cannot go fast in 

 moist February it is a good time to select the 

 places and map them out where herbs and flowers 

 will most likely come first. All the autumn lies 

 prone on the ground. Dead dark leaves, some washed 

 to their woody frames, short grey stalks, some few 

 decayed hulls of hedge fruit, and among these the 

 mars or stocks of the plants that do not die away, 

 but lie as it were on the surface waiting. Here the 

 strong teazle will presently stand high; here the 

 ground-ivy will dot the mound with bluish-purple. 

 But it will be necessary to walk slowly to find the 

 ground-ivy flowers under the cover of the briers. 

 These bushes will be a likely place for a blackbird's 

 nest ; this thick close hawthorn for a bullfinch ; these 

 bramble thickets with remnants of old nettle stalks 

 will be frequented by the whitethroat after a while. 

 The hedge is now but a lattice-work which will before 

 long be hung with green. Now it can be seen through, 

 and now is the time to arrange for future discovery. 

 In May everything will be hidden, and unless the most 

 promising places are selected beforehand, it will not 

 be easy to search them out. The broad ditch will 

 be arched over, the plants rising on the mound will 

 meet the green boughs drooping, and all the vacancy 

 will be filled. But having observed the spot in winter 

 you can almost make certain of success in spring. 



It is this previous knowledge which invests those 

 who are always on the spot, those who work much 



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