52 NATURE IN DOWNLAND 



Before finishing witli this part of the subject it may 

 be observed that on these high, treeless downs, in the 

 burning sun, the flowers are more intense in colour 

 than those that bloom in the shade and close shelter 

 of the woods and forests of the weald, even those of 

 the same species — the poor 



Half-faded blossoms, pale with heat 

 And full of bitter summer. 



Looking round upon the living garment of many- 

 colours, especially where the glowing orange-yellow 

 patches of the ragwort are most conspicuous, one can 

 fancy that the strayed pack-horses of a silk merchant 

 of the olden time have passed this way, and that the 

 sharp claws of the bramble have caught and pulled 

 the packages to pieces, scattering far and wide the 

 shining fabrics of all the hues in the rainbow. This 

 brilliancy in the colour of the flowers has a counter- 

 part in the greater intensity of life in the creatures ; 

 or so it seems to me. The hum of the bees ; the light- 

 ning-quick movement of the lizard and of the adder, 

 when one is so fortunate as to catch a glimpse of him 

 — a sinuous, swift-moving band of a shining golden- 

 brown colour ; the frantic scuttling into cover of the 

 disturbed rabbit ; the lively movements and music of 

 the small birds — all give one the idea that the hottest 

 time of the summer is their period of greatest activity. 

 These blossoming places in the wilderness which I 

 have tried to describe, and which make the thought 



