Summer's Afterglow 241 



from the ground ; its spiny foliage, too, is of a 

 distinctly yellower green than that of the larger 

 whin, which stands out with the bluer tinge of a 

 bough of Scotch fir, where it occurs, as it often does, 

 among the smaller species. The flowers of both are 

 golden ; but those of the dwarf furze are of a 

 yellower gold than those of the common gorse, 

 which more closely suggest the " good red gold " of 

 the ancient ballads. Splendid, indeed, is the royal 

 mantle of purple and gold with which the heather- 

 blossom and the low-growing autumn furze-bloom 

 clothe many an October hillside in our wilder and 

 uncultivated lands. The duller stars of the ling 

 have already lost most of their colour; but the 

 deep purple of the bell-heather is more lasting, and 

 survives to contrast its own rich summer stain with 

 the autumn bronzes and yellows of the dying 

 bracken on many a high moorside and sea-washed 

 cliff -face under the pale blue skies of St. Luke. 



The keenest interest of the wandering majority 

 of birds at this season is in the berries. The black- 

 berry, which alone of wild autumn berries is much 

 appreciated for food by civilized man, is seldom 

 touched by birds, which for apples, cherries, and 

 almost all garden fruit show tastes too much like 

 our own. If blackberries lasted as long as hips 

 and haws or holly-berries, possibly the birds would 

 be glad of them during the pinch of later winter ; 

 but birds seldom look at the blackberry, amid all 

 the plenteous fare which October offers them. 

 Robins and blackbirds occasionally pick them in 

 dry weather, and they are known to be eaten by 

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