THE CROWS 



N one side of the road immediately 

 after quitting the suburb there is a 

 small cover of furze. The spines 

 are now somewhat browned by the 

 summer heats, and the fern which grows about 

 every bush trembles on the balance of colour be- 

 tween green and yellow. Soon, too, the tall wiry 

 grass will take a warm brown tint, which gradually 

 pales as the autumn passes into winter, and finally 

 bleaches to greyish white. 



Looking into the furze from the footpath, there 

 are purple traces here and there at the edge of the 

 fern where the heath-bells hang. On a furze 

 branch, which projects above the rest, a furze chat 

 perches, with yellow blossom above and beneath 

 him. Rushes mark the margin of small pools and 

 marshy spots, so overhung with brambles and birch 

 branches, and so closely surrounded by gorse, that 

 they would not otherwise be noticed. 



But the thick growth of rushes intimates that 

 water is near, and upon parting the bushes a little 



