296 The Face of the Wilderness 



lately to be seen making their way from the heaths 

 on the Hampshire border into Berkshire. They 

 cross the Kennet with its planted osier-beds and 

 remnants of old fen, and pass into the deep green 

 country of the Thames valley, to sell their wares 

 where the landscape changes and the birch becomes 

 a rare tree. 



