54 Wild Life in a Southern County. 
land overlooking the vale. At starting the track is 
but just distinguishable from the general sward of the 
hill : the ruts are overgrown with grass—but the tough 
‘tussocky’ kind, in which the hares hide, avoids the 
path, and by its edge marks the way. Soon the 
ground sinks, and then the cornfields approach, 
extending on either hand—barley, already bending 
under the weight of the awn, swaying with every 
gentle breath of air, stronger oats and wheat, broad 
squares of swede and turnip and dark-green mangold. 
Plough and harrow press hard on the ancient 
track, and yet dare not encroach upon it. With 
varying width, from twenty to fifty yards, it runs like 
a green riband through the sea of corn—a width that 
allows a flock of sheep to travel easily side by side, 
spread abroad, and snatch a bite as they pass. Dry, 
shallow trenches full of weeds, and low narrow 
mounds, green also, divide it from the arable land; 
and on these now and then grow storm-stunted haw- 
thorn bushes, gnarled and aged. On the banks the 
wild thyme grows in great bunches, emitting an 
exquisite fragrance—luxurious cushions these to rest 
upon beneath the shade of the hawthorn, listening to 
the gentle rustle of the wheat as the wind rushes over 
it. Away yonder the shadows of the clouds come 
over the ridge, and glide with seeming sudden 
increase of speed down-hill, then along the surface of 
the corn, darkening it as they pass, with a bright 
band of light following swiftly behind. It is gone, 
