September 



LXVI 



THE flowers of early summer have sunk out of sight, 

 Autumn kut ^eir pl aces are filled with blossom 

 Flowers not \ ess varied or brilliant. The rose- 

 bay willow-herb has run to the top of its tall ladder 

 and vanished in a cloud of fluffy seeds. Nowhere 

 can this pretty weed be seen in such perfection as in 

 some of the cuttings on the London and South- 

 western Railway between Alton and Winchester. 

 Rooted in the dry chalk, its petals take a deeper 

 stain of rose than when it grows in woods and moist 

 places ; and in order to preserve its balance on the 

 vertical sides of the cutting, it has to adopt a more 

 compact habit of growth than is seen elsewhere. 

 Thistles of every kind have parted with their sculp- 

 tured formality, and every breeze blows them into 

 further dishevelment. But there is plenty of beauty 

 still. 



I spent some time this morning (1895) acU 

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