198 THE BEAUTIES OF NATURE chap. 



near side. On arriving at the end of each 

 furrow he turned them round, and as it was 

 easier to pull than to push them, this gradu- 

 ally gave the furrow a turn towards the left, 

 thus accounting for the slight curvature. 

 Lastly, while the oxen rested on arriving at 

 the end of the furrow, the ploughmen scraped 

 off the earth which had accumulated on the 

 coulter and ploughshare, and the accumulation 

 of these scrapings gradually formed the balk. 



It is fascinating thus to trace indications 

 of old customs and modes of life, but it would 

 carry us away from the present subject. 



Even though the Swiss meadows may offer 

 a greater variety, our English fields are yet 

 rich in flowers : yellow with Cowslips and 

 Primroses, pink with Cuckoo flowers and 

 purple with Orchis, while, however, unwel- 

 come to the eye of the farmer, 



the rich Buttercup 

 Its tiny polished urn holds up, 

 Filled with ripe summer to the edge,' 



turning many a meadow into a veritable field 

 of the cloth of gold, and there are few prettier 



1 J. R. Lowell. 



