MOORLAND IDYLLS. 



far and near a whole circle of amicable 

 birds and insects. And now observe that 

 on these upright flowering branches the 

 shape of the leaves changes entirely, so 

 that you would hardly recognize them at 

 first sight for ivy. They stand round the 

 branch on all sides equally, and therefore 

 have no longer any need to fit in and dove- 

 tail with one another. Each leaf is now 

 somewhat oval in form, though sharply 

 pointed ; there are no more lobes or angles ; 

 and the outline as a whole is far fuller 

 and usually unbroken. Yet they still avoid 

 standing in one another's light, and are so 

 arranged in spirals round the stem as to 

 interfere as little as possible with one 

 another's freehold. 



The little yellowish-green flowers which 

 top these branches appear in late autumn. 

 They are not particularly conspicuous, and 

 their petals are insignificant ; yet they distil 

 abundant honey on a disk in the centre, and 

 they breathe forth a curious half-putrescent 



94 



