The Story-Book of the Fields 



Flints and white pebbles belong to this class 

 of stone, which is called silex or quartz. 

 Sandy lands have little consistency, are very 

 pervious to water and are easily heated by 

 the action of the sun, which exposes them to 

 frequent drought. 



The name of granite is given to a rock which 

 is chiefly composed of silex and which forms 

 whole mountain chains. The soil formed by 

 the tiny fragments of this rock is called 

 granitic soil. It is not favourable to culti- 

 vation, though chestnuts flourish in it, as well 

 as certain wild plants which affect this ground. 

 Chief among these are the heaths and the 

 red foxglove. The heaths, with their pretty 

 little pink flowers, will cover the poorest sandy 

 soil with an endless carpet. The foxglove 

 is a plant with large leaves, with flowers red 

 on the outside and spotted with white and 

 purple within, arranged on a long and splen- 

 did spike reaching almost to the height of a 

 man. The flowers are shaped like long bells, 

 or fingers of gloves ; hence their name of 

 foxgloves. 



The soil formed by the matter cast up by 

 volcanoes is also siliceous and is called 

 volcanic soil. It is often extremely fertile. 



Valleys traversed by great rivers have a 



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