70 WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



bright as to cause the bird to resemble the yellow- 

 hammer at the first glance. But besides these, the 

 springhead is not much frequented by birds ; perhaps 

 the clear water attracts less visible insect life, and the 

 shore of the stream being hard and dry, there is no 

 moisture where grubs and worms may work their 

 way. Behind the fountain the steep green wall of 

 the coombe rises almost perpendicularly so steep as 

 not to be climbed without exertion. At the summit 

 are the cornfields of the level plain which here so sud- 

 denly sinks without warning. The plough has been 

 drawn along all but on the very edge, and the tall 

 wheat nods at the verge. From thence a strong arm 

 might send a flat round stone skimming across to the 

 other side of the narrow hollow, and its winding course 

 is apparent. 



Like a deep groove it cuts a channel up towards the 

 hills, becoming narrower as it approaches ; and the 

 sides diminish in height, till at the neck a few rails 

 and a gate can close it, being scarcely broader than 

 a wagon-track. There, at the foot of the down, it 

 ends, overlooked by a barn, the home of innumerable 

 sparrows, whose nests are made under the eaves 

 everywhere their keen eyes can find an aperture large 

 enough to squeeze into. 



Looking down the steep side of the coombe, near 

 the bottom there runs along a projecting ledge, or 

 terrace, like a natural footway. On the opposite side 

 is another corresponding ledge, or green turf-covered 

 terrace ; these follow the windings of the valley, de- 



