I lO 
NATURE NOTES 
except at the top, where there is a canopy of green, tall, straight 
and close together ; and yet from the very bareness it would 
be impossible to hide here, for one can see everywhere. How 
still it seems at first, until one has been in some time ! Then one 
begins to see and hear a little of the life that goes on in a forest 
almost in the heart of Denmark. Kra-kra comes from the grey- 
hooded crow, who is at home here. 
The smaller birds have not stopped their song yet, and as I 
sit down I can see many different kinds, principally the beautiful 
little wren, flitting and singing amongst the branches of the 
younger firs. Quite a concert of woodland songsters is going 
on. Magpies chime in as they fly through. The ground is 
covered with moss and dead pine-needles, so soft to the feet. 
Every now and then comes a thud — a fresh cone has fallen. Pick- 
ing some up, I find they are green and purple, deliciously sweet 
but sticky, from the resinous juice on them. The whole air is 
ladened by their perfume this hot July afternoon. 
Only a few flowers grow here — a few pansies, hairbells, and 
occasionally a little ling is seen. There is not much variety per- 
haps, but still its own beauty has this forest, for are not these 
reddish trunks beautiful, covered with green and grey lichens, 
feathery masses of small leafless twigs standing out at right 
angles to the trees, breaking the otherwise upright lines ; and the 
purple red ground, with patches of emerald-green moss here 
and there, all warmed and coloured by the sunlight flickering 
across all and warming the whole air. But for the sunlight and 
bird-life these forests would be almost unbearable, so tall and 
vast and lonely they are. 
By sitting still, how much one sees, if only for an hour ! The 
apparently silent wood becomes full of life : large green and 
brown dragon-flies sway backwards and forwards, so close I can 
hear the clicking of the wings as they come near me : butterflies 
flit about higher up, giving a bright colour to the dark firs : the 
hum of wild bees is everywhere, buzzing along the ground in 
search of food. Suddenly they dart out of sight : one would 
like to follow them to see what wondrous little homes they 
have made for themselves. Large holes suggest foxes. A few 
mosquitoes come about to annoy one in this otherwise perfectly 
peaceful spot. Kra-kra-kra echoes again and again : always a 
troubled cry, and yet one would not like not to hear it ; it 
belongs to the woods, and I am only an intruder. 
Walking farther on 1 come to an opening through which one 
sees masses of dark woods in the distance, cornfields and the 
rich purple earth of the ploughed fields. Entering again and 
going deeper and deeper into the forest, I come across a silent, 
clear pool, dark from reflections of the firs. What an ideal 
bathing and drinking place for the denizens of the forest ! Next 
month the ground will be covered with fungi, yellow-brown, and 
the white edible mushroom — already a few have appeared. The 
suu is setting and casts rich purple shadows across the scene, 
