208 SUMMER 



the nearest parallel is in the loose-hung leaves of the poplar, 

 which turn on their flattened stalks in every wind, and fan 

 themselves for coolness. But the lime has possibly a trace of 

 susceptibility to heat, which its wide use as a shade-tree 

 would not suggest. At any rate, one of the characteristic 

 secret warnings of summer's decline, both in town and 

 country, is the fall of the first red lime-leaves, crisped by the 

 sun. In the country these fluttering signals are seen late in 

 August, about the time when the lime-hawk caterpillars also 

 leave the boughs. In the arid London summer this fall of 

 the leaf may begin early in July. 



The secret ageing of the year is to a large extent concealed 

 by the luxuriance of July vegetation ; while the green 

 surface of the thickets and belts of undergrowth swell 

 broader and higher, inside are the dead bones of spring. If 

 we happen to push inside the matted screen of July plants, 

 and use the opportunity for examination, we may often re- 

 discover buried strata of the year's history, as archaeologists 

 disinter successive Troys. So much has happened since the 

 primroses bloomed that they have passed out of reckoning, 

 and it gives almost a shock of surprise to find their tufts of 

 leaves sprawling lank and bleached beneath the shadow of 

 the summer undergrowth. Snowdrops are hidden here too, 

 with leaves equally long and overblown, and tall stalks 

 drooping with large green seed-capsules. Bluebells trail lax 

 and anaemic, with their plump seed-heads alone showing 

 signs of healthy life. In all the flowers of spring there is the 

 pallid sickness of the shade, and the almost subterranean 

 fostering of the vital spark. Nor are the plants that eclipsed 

 the primrose and bluebell themselves in much better case. 

 The cow-parsley and wild parsnip are now almost as far from 

 the light as the victims of their own shadow ; their flowers 

 are over, and their leaves droop faded from the tall central 



