190 THE AUTUMN PANORAMA 



although they strew the thin shells liberally among the 

 leaves to show that the harvest is abundant* The 

 Beech shelters those odd, interesting parasites, the 

 Beech Drops, supposed to draw nourishment from 

 its roots. Their flesh-coloured, leafless stems are 

 about a foot high and are studded with insignificant 

 flowers ♦ We demand conformity in the vegetable 

 world as elsewhere, and when a plant grows without 

 leaves and has flowers that do not open it is naturally 

 regarded with suspicious aversion. Although the 

 Beech drops are abundant and are looked for under 

 every Beech tree, still they are not free from the 

 eerie significance attaching to the Corpse plant and 

 the Cancer root. These seem to suggest a parasitic 

 unwholesome life, in contrast to the glorious death 

 of the broad valley and rising hill, where autumn, 

 with her Midas touch, is turning the world to gold. 



