72 STRA Y FEA THERS FROM MANY BIRDS. 



a host of simple blossoms, but wonderfully fresh and 

 sweet and welcome. Primroses in pale yellow clusters 

 stud the open parts of the woods, and on either side of 

 the country lanes, nestling warmly at the moss covered 

 roots of the hazel bushes. They grow exceptionally 

 fine and fragrant where the brushwood has been cleared 

 the previous season, and the trees have been felled. By 

 the pond side and in the marshy meadows under the old 

 crab-trees, daffodils throw up their golden crowns from 

 a cluster of spike-like leaves ; and here and there on 

 the mossy sheltered banks the first spring violets may be 

 gathered. A few snowdrops still continue to bloom, 

 looking like little balls of foam-fleck trembling in every 

 breeze ; and, in the pastures, daisies are springing into 

 flower on every side. On the waste ground the colts- 

 foot gleams in yellow patches in the fitful sunlight ; 

 whilst, by way of contrast, the snow-white flowers of the 

 blackthorn are prominent in the hedges, and long before 

 its leaves have ventured to burst forth. This latter 

 shrub is one of the most beautiful objects of a vernal 

 landscape, especially when growing in clusters, appearing 

 when in full flower like drifts or heaps of snow. 



Insect life is also on the stir. Many insects which 

 have hibernated during the long dreary winter now come 

 out into the warm sunshine. In the quiet, sheltered 

 corners, and by the pond side under the drooping 

 branches of the still leafless limes and elms, clouds of 



