26 
NATURE NOTES 
offensive weapons than his pencil and note-book, or takes away 
with him nothing except pleasant memories of an enjoyable 
hour spent in the forest glades. 
On the border of the wood is a field of stubble, through which 
by the wood side is a rutty road to the red-brick homestead 
partly concealed by many ricks, with a row of aged elms stand- 
ing in the background. There is something attractive in these 
roads, which are common in the country, to those who do not 
have the misfortune to traverse them in winter, because of their 
native primitiveness. Two dark lines indicate the tracks of the 
wheels of the vehicles which pass, and a centre one, less worn, 
shows the passage of the animals and foot-passengers. On 
every side the lines are bordered by the long grass in rank 
profusion, which, not being kept under control by the traffic and 
the road-man, furnishes an occasional grazing ground. These 
roads are relics of what our distant forefathers so valiantly 
struggled with when it was more pleasant to journey on horse- 
back than by vehicle. Along the sandy road are several holes 
where partridges have been delighting themselves by plunging in 
and tossing up the gritty soil, and in the field two pairs of these 
birds are keeping company, evidently preparing for the brooding 
season. Over the hedge, in the field running up to the house, 
a welcome sight greets me in the shape of a lamb, whose thick 
black legs seem too sturdy for his frail body, and with ears 
stretched out he gazes at me wfith wonder in his dark face, then 
presses close to his mother as she moves on in unwearying 
search for the new birth of the grass. The time is early for 
lambs, but the weather is exceptionally good for them. It is 
the first I have seen this year, and as I stand watching it I hear 
the bleat of another sheep, and from the bend two other pretty' 
creatures with white legs and faces race to their mother, and as 
they eagerly partake of their sustenance, one on each side, she 
turns and looks lovingly at them. Over the field the grass has 
been closely cropped of the old growth, and the new already gives 
a bright green surface. A few prim daisies have come up with 
the new covering, and it is fitting they should flourish with the 
newly-born lambs, whose necks they would adorn with appro- 
priate garlands. 
The cattle stand quietly chewing their cud outside the gate 
of the farmyard, waiting to be let in for the night. The cow- 
man enters from an adjoining field with a load of roots for their 
fare, and thej' move lazily aside to let him pass, but are eager to 
follow him. 
There is the scent of freshness wafted on the slight breeze 
which ripples the tops of the elms, a crispness in the clear air 
which brings the glow of health to the cheeks, a firmness in the 
earth and its corresponding increase of comfort in walking, and 
a quickening in the variety of vegetation all around, which are 
signs of early returning life that raise the spirits and fill the 
heart with hope of the beautiful time to come. 
Fr.wcis John Underwood. 
