RED DEER LAND. i 7 



prairies of America. After the fire the 

 charred stems of furze alone remain, and 

 gradually whiten and turn grey, like ribs of 

 dead animals, in the winter. Among 

 these crooked ribs the light-green whortle- 

 berries and coarse grasses grow till they 

 overtop the dry sticks. Next, the heather 

 rises, and after a time the place resumes its 

 former aspect. Meanwhile, the new growth 

 of grass has afforded pasture to the 

 sheep and ponies, and to the deer. 



Here and there small tufts of cotton 

 on stalks of grass appear waving in the 

 breeze, white dots above the dark heath. 

 This cotton-grass shows a boggy soil, and 

 warns the rider not to pass there lest 

 his horse sinks to the knee. Even in the 

 hottest summer months many places on 

 the moors — which, it must be remem- 

 bered, are hill-tops — retain water, and 

 will let the unwary sink. In winter these 

 places are multiplied tenfold, and it then 



c 



