11)2 THE OPEN A 111 



still leads the footsteps from tree to tree, till by-and- 

 by a lark sings, and, going to look for it, we find the 

 stubble outside the forest stubble still bright with 

 the blue and white flowers of gray speedwell. One 

 of the earliest to bloom in the spring, it continues 

 till the plough comes again in autumn. Now looking 

 back from the open stubble on the high wall of trees, 

 the touch of autumn here and there is the more 

 visible oaks dotted with brown, horse chestnuts 

 yellow, maples orange, and the bushes beneath red 

 with haws. 



