36 OUT OF DOORS. 



selves to the shallow stratum of soil, so that they run 

 almost horizontally. As the rain and wind beat away 

 the upper portion of the quarry, the earth falls away 

 from the roots, which hang down, waving loosely in the 

 air ; so when the strong wind attacks them they lash 

 about like whips, and cut large semicircular grooves in 

 the sand-wall against which they are blown. 



Some trees seem to be little affected by this falling 

 away of the soil. The elder, for example, retains its 

 leaves bravely, and in one part has formed quite a 

 rampart against the wind ; so does the blackberry ; 

 while the elms are entirely stripped, the rooks' nests 

 coming out black against the grey sky, whilst even the 

 oaks have parted with their leaves, contrary to their 

 usual custom of keeping them, though withered, until 

 they are pushed off by the young foliage of the follow- 

 ing spring. 



In July last, among the many insects which 

 thronged the quarry, I was greatly struck with the 

 number of sand-boring and parasitic insects that 

 buzzed about its eastern face, and so thought that such 

 a day as this would afford a good opportunity for 

 digging into the bank and seeing what the insects had 

 done, 



Even the face of the quarry has undergone a great 

 change since July, not by the hand of man, but by 

 natural means. The rains of many consecutive weeks 

 have been dashed against it, run down it, and cut it 

 into multitudinous meandering channels, while at the 



