Where to Look for Flowers. 49 
whose ruts are deep in the rubble—worn so in 
winter. 
Such places, close to cultivated land yet undis- 
turbed, are the best in which to look for wild flowers ; 
and on the narrow strip beside the hedge and on the 
crumbling rubble bank of the rough track may be 
found a greater variety than by searching the broad 
acres beyond. In the season the large white bell-like 
flowers of the convolvulus will climb over the haw- 
thorn, and the lesser striped kind will creep along the 
ground, The pink pimpernel hides on the very verge 
of the corn, which presently will be strewn with the 
beautiful ‘blue-bottle’ flower, than whose exquisite 
hue there is nothing more lovely in our fields, The 
great scarlet poppy with the black centre, and ‘eggs 
and butter’—curious name for a flower—will, of 
course, be there: the latter often flourishes on a high 
elevation, on the very ridges, provided 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 valley in them- 
selves. These great green grooves furrow the sides of 
the downs everywhere, and for that reason it is best to 
walk either on the ridge or in the plain at the bottom ; 
if you follow the slope half-way up you are continually 
descending and ascending the steep sides of these 
gullys, which adds much to the fatigue. At the 
E 
