86 AUTUMN AND WINTER 



and springlike as that of its forerunner in May. Yet even 

 in this case there is a tinge of purple in the autumn blossom ; 

 and while the sheets of vernal squill that cloak the turf on 

 many Cornish cliff-tops seem to reflect the sky, the colour of 

 the autumnal squill seems to be borrowed from the bands of 

 bluish purple in the September sea. For the sea's colour 

 also changes with the seasons on those coasts ; and by the 

 end of the summer it is streaked and belted with rich greens 

 and purples that are absent from the colder waters in 

 spring. 



Many seaside and inland cliffs, as well as most heaths 

 and commons where the spring gorse flames in May, are lit 

 up by the fires of the dwarf species in early autumn. The 

 dwarf gorse or furze is not to be confused with the needle 

 furze, or petty whin ; the latter is a spare and almost creep- 

 ing plant with fine, needlelike thorns and small yellow pea- 

 like blossoms, which flowers in early summer on bare heathy 

 commons. Dwarf furze generally grows about three feet 

 high, and is apt to be mistaken for the common species ; but 

 it is not difficult to distinguish by its much lower stature 

 and its habit of coming into full bloom from late August to 

 October. It is less woody and branched, its growth inclin- 

 ing more to short sprays springing direct from the root, or 

 to a dense cushionlike bush, when clipped by rabbits or the 

 wind. Its stems and needles are distinctly yellowish-green, so 

 that the boughs of common gorse seem almost blue-black or 

 inky beside them ; and the blossom is of a perceptibly 

 deeper shade of yellow. This is another case in which an 

 autumn flower is deeper in colour than its spring equivalent. 

 Though the heather is gradually fading as the dwarf furze is 

 coming into full bloom, their mingled purple and gold clothe 

 the hills with a splendid garment under the September sun. 

 In the cool grass of mountain ledges and upland mires, 



