NATURE AND SPORT IN BRITAIN 



almost the first flower to catch the eye. Pimpernel of 

 two kinds, in blue and scarlet, veronicas, to which our 

 intimate friend the blue speedwell belongs, linarias, 

 campanulas, and many another flower appear to gladden 

 the eye of the passer-by. They say, by the way, that 

 since Buxbaum's speedwell, a little blue-and-white 

 striped species, was introduced into this country, the 

 turtle-dove, which feeds much upon the seeds of this 

 plant, has become perceptibly more plentiful. I saw 

 no less than eight of these doves together in one patch 

 of seeds on the downs last summer, a number which 

 struck me as very remarkable. Buxbaum's speedwell 

 came in quite accidentally, with Italian rye grass, a 

 generation or two since. In May the cowslips are 

 wonderful whole downsides are clothed with them. 



A plant, unknown in almost every other part of 

 England, yet familiar upon these chalk downs, is the 

 round-headed rampion, notable for its handsome dark 

 blue flower. The wild orchids are in themselves a 

 fascinating study among the quiet hills. A score of 

 kinds may be discovered within a range of half as 

 many miles, if the searcher knows how and where to 

 find them. Among these are the spotted, fragrant, and 

 pyramidal orchis, the tway-blade, the lady's tress, the 

 bee, the early purple, the green-winged meadow orchis, 

 and the frog orchis. Among the rarer kinds, some of 

 them very local and very hard to lay hands upon 

 luckily for themselves, poor things are the butterfly 

 orchis, the fly, the bird's nest, and the helleborine 

 orchis. 



In truth, the wild life of the South Downs is an 

 inexhaustible subject. Whether the wanderer over 

 these free and invigorating spaces, with their magnifi- 

 cent prospects and their ample air, be a lover of bird, 

 or beast, or flower, here, assuredly, he will find enough 



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