44 Wild Life in a Southern County. 
when there is no apparent wind, not sufficient to 
sway a leaf, as if in obedience to light and partial 
currents created by a variation of temperature in 
different parts of the same field. 
Once now and then, looking at this range of hills 
from a distance of two or three miles. on moonless 
nights, when it has been sufficiently clear to distin- 
guish them, I have noticed that the particular down 
on which the earthwork is situate shows more dis- 
tinctly than the others. By day no difference is ap- 
parent ; but sometimes by night it seems slightly 
lighter in hue, and stands out more plainly. This 
may perhaps be due to some unobserved character- 
istic of the herbage on its slope, or possibly to the 
chalky subsoil coming there nearer to the surface. 
The power of reflecting light possessed by the earth, 
and varied by different soils or by vegetation, is worth 
observation. 
