44 Flint-diggers. 



and butter' — curious name for a flower — will, of 

 course, be there : the latter often flourishes on a 

 high elevation, on the verj^ ridges, pro\-ided only 

 the plough has been near. 



At irregular intervals along the slope there are 

 deep hollows — shallow near the summit, deepening 

 and widening as they sink, till by the hedge at the 

 foot they broaden out into a little valle}' in them- 

 selves. These great green grooves furrow the sides 

 of the downs everywhere, and for that reason it is 

 best to waUi either on the ridge or in the plain at the 

 bottom : if jo\x follow the slope half-way up you are 

 continually descending and ascending the steep sides 

 of these gulleys, which adds much to the fatigue. 

 At the mouths of the hollows, close to the hedge, 

 the great flint stones and lumps of chalky rubble 

 rolling down from above one by one in the passage 

 of the 3'ears have accumulated ; so that the turf there 

 is almost hidden as by a stony cascade. 



On the ridge here is a thicket of furze, grown 

 shrub-like and strong, being untouched hj wood- 

 man's tool ; here the rabbits have their ' buries,' and 

 be careful how 3'ou thread 3'our wa}' betw^een the 

 bushes, for the ground is undermined with innumera- 

 ble flint-pits long abandoned. This is the favorite 

 resort of the chats, who perch on the furze or on the 

 heaps of flints, perpetually iterating their one note, 

 from which their name seems taken. Within the 

 enclosure of the old earthwork itself the flint-diggers 

 have been at work : they occasional!}^ find a few 

 fragments of rusty metal, doubtless relics of ancieut 

 weapons ; but little worth preserving is ever found 

 there. Such treasures are much more frequently 



