56 SPRING IN THE NORTH. CHAP. vr. 



How he delighted in spring ! He welcomed its 

 approach with joy. The winters were usually cold and 

 stormy. The cold winds blew violently over Caithness, 

 and prevented any green thing appearing on the surface. 

 But Dick was up before the sun was up. He was out 

 before the flowers were out. He watched them thrust- 

 ing their way upwards into the air, watched them while 

 they blossomed into flowers, and watched them while 

 they shrank into decay. 



Spring is late in the north. Even at the beginning 

 of May the earth is still brown. Only in some sheltered 

 spots by the river-side are any green things to be seen. 

 There are very few hedges near Thurso. " On the 4th of 

 May," says Dick, " the buds are only swelling. There 

 is no ' May blossom ' in Caithness. Even at the end of 

 May the few hedges are not in full leaf." The first 

 flowers that appear are the yellow Coltsfoot, the yellow 

 Primrose, the yellow Buttercup, the Marsh Marigold, 

 the little yellow Celandine, and a few blue flowers ot 

 the Dog Violet. These are all the beauties of the 

 northern flora in May. The cold winds are still sweep- 

 ing over the county. 



Dick went out one morning at the end of May, 

 towards the Eeay hills, to see how the flowers were 

 growing. The morning was cold and cheerless. The 

 flag fences along the road were hung with rain pearls. 

 When he reached the Reay links, he found the ground 

 covered with cowslips. From thence he went up the 

 hills to the waterfall to gather ferns. They were only 

 beginning to expand. The summer moss, Polytrichum 



