THE KERM\'G OF THE WHEAT. 191 



ciiai'ti:r xxxii. 

 Tim KiiRxixc or riin ivuiiat. 



A NARROW sini^lc-filc pathway leads c)b]i(]ucl\' as a short 

 cut across the lower corn-fielil to the briili;c, and on 

 cither hand the mellowin;^ corn rises sharply besitle it 

 like a wall, with its tall shocks now just turning from 

 pale green to i;()!den brown before the rii)eninL,r sun and 

 the warpinL;" wiiul. As I pass throui^h it I cannot avoid 

 tramplini; down a haulm or two of the overhanging 

 straw here aiul there, so closely does the crop encioach 

 U]K)n the track that threads among it. There are briglit 

 yellow corn-marigolds scattered in between the heads, 

 and gieat scarlet poj-tpies by the ^Jidi^^c, and dark blue- 

 bottles further afield, ami lilac scabiouses (nertopping 

 even the tallest beards, lleneath, too, tliere is an inter- 

 loi)ing mat of smaller weeds : lithe climbing buckwlieat 

 or black bindweed, with its barbed and heart-shaped 

 leaves exactly mimicking the lesser convolvulus, who.sc 

 funnel-like blos.soms open by its side ; stiff u ir}' knot- 

 grass forming here and there a ragged undersward ; 

 creeping toadflax pressing tight to the ground its broad 

 leaves and snap-dragon llowers ; red bartsia sucking out 

 the life-blood of the corn with its parasitic rootlets and 

 clinging suckers. For even the most carefully tended 



