CHAPTER XIV 



MY COUNTRY WANDERINGS 



I. EARLY SPRING 



Ey February the days begin to lengthen, and it is 

 then the young naturalist should commence his 

 outdoor studies in real earnest, even if he has not 

 done so still earlier in the year. Personally, I am 

 an all - the - year - rounder, and doubtless many 

 readers of Nature Stalking are also. It is only as 

 a result of experiencing the dreary and so-called 

 barren season of Winter that one can appreciate 

 to the full the beauty of Spring, the glow of 

 Summer, and the rich mellowness of Autumn. 



February is a good month in which to search 

 for the first Spring plants bursting through the 

 leaf-strewn bed of the woodland, or on some sun- 

 kissed bank. Two of the earliest of all are the 

 Dog's Mercury and the Green Hellebore. The 

 first-named is a very common plant, but the Helle- 

 bore is much more local in its distribution. The 

 Dog's Mercury grows in dense masses in woods 

 and copses, and upon hedge-banks. The flower, 

 and indeed the whole plant, is green, and when it 



first comes through the ground the floral organs 



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