THE COUNTRY LIFE. 247 



a frond of hart's-tongue fern, though withered 

 at the tip, and greenish- gray lichen grows on 

 the exposed stumps of trees. These together 

 give a green tint to the mound, which is not 

 so utterly devoid of colour as the season of the 

 year might indicate. Where they fail, brown 

 brake fern fills the spaces between the bram- 

 bles ; and in a moist spot the bunches of rushes 

 are composed half of dry stalks, and half of 

 green. Stems of willow-herb, four feet high, 

 still stand, and tiny long-tailed tits perch side- 

 ways on them. Above, on the bank, another 

 species of willow-herb has died down to a 

 short stalk, from which springs a living branch, 

 and at its end is one pink flower. A dande- 

 lion is opening on the same sheltered bank ; 

 farther on the gorse is sprinkled with golden 

 spots of bloom. A flock of greenfinches starts 

 from the bushes, and their colour shows against 

 the ruddy wands of the osier-bed over which 

 they fly. The path winds round the edge of 

 the wood, where a waggon-track goes up the 

 hill ; it is deeply grooved at the foot of the 

 hill. These tracks wear deeply into the chalk 

 just where the ascent begins. The chalk 



