234 NATURE IN DOWNLAND 



by poking a little fun at him at this distant day, so 

 long after he visited Sussex and spoke slightingly of 

 chalk. His subsequent rambles, of which we have no 

 report, must have considerably enlarged his ideas about 

 scenery and other matters. 



We have seen that the West Sussex downs excel 

 in the beauty of their beeches ; that they can boast of 

 the noblest grove or wood of yew trees in this country, 

 and also possess a hawthorn wood of rare beauty. It 

 may be added that the furze also flourishes at numerous 

 points from end to end of the range : many and many 

 a shining yellow sheet of bloom, from three or four 

 to twenty or thirty acres in extent, have I seen and 

 revelled in among these hills in May and June. Here, 

 too, that charming climber, the wild clematis or tra- 

 veller's joy, finds its most favourable soil, and flourishes 

 amazingly. I have never seen it look so fine in winter 

 as among the downs ; in sheltered hoUows among the 

 hills you will find clumps of trees, evergreen holly 

 and yew, mixed with leafless oak and thorn and beech, 

 partially veiled or clouded with the unshed silver- 

 grey fluff" to a height of thirty or forty feet from the 

 ground. In England we call that silver-grey down 

 Old Mans Beard ; in another country I have heard it 

 called Angel's Hair. 



There is another fine plant characteristic of the 

 Sussex downs, the juniper, which is not flourishing ; 

 and this is all the more to be regretted, because it is 

 not, like the furze and thorn and clematis, to be found 



