. The New Forest . oking down a valley. Birches grow in an especially beautiful mannerhere. On the open tracts of grass that are called lawns in the Forest, and that run between anenclosed wood on one side, and perhaps a hillside,heather-grown, on the other, we see clumps ofbirches, grouping themselves together with infinitegrace and lovely curves as the branches taperupwards. And if we examine closely the stem ofa birch, which looks all creamy-white at a distance,how many delicate and pure shades of colour shallwe not find in it! There is soft rose-colour, and abluish emerald green, and orang
. The New Forest . oking down a valley. Birches grow in an especially beautiful mannerhere. On the open tracts of grass that are called lawns in the Forest, and that run between anenclosed wood on one side, and perhaps a hillside,heather-grown, on the other, we see clumps ofbirches, grouping themselves together with infinitegrace and lovely curves as the branches taperupwards. And if we examine closely the stem ofa birch, which looks all creamy-white at a distance,how many delicate and pure shades of colour shallwe not find in it! There is soft rose-colour, and abluish emerald green, and orange-red where a bit ofsilver bark has peeled off, and warm brown where thebranches start from the stem, with touches of greenand black moss, and many gradations of blue-grayor red-gray on the shaded side; and all these tintsveiled, as it were, and softened by the prevailingsilver-white that stands out so distinctly to catchthe sunshine. Sometimes these groups of birches stand as LOOKING DOWN BUTTS DECEMBER 125 sentinels on the outskirts of an old wood, some, asit were, stepping forward, others standing there, in April, their radiantly green buds arethe first sign of the coming of summer faded hue of September leaves changes topale gold, and at last to that rich, deep golden tintthat so delights the eye in mid-November—averitable frame of gold to the brown, leafless wood-land within. Now, in December, their topmost twigs makea tracery of warm crimson-brown (where nextyears buds are already beginning to fill out)against the dim gray-brown masses beyond, andthe thick, sturdy bushes of holly form a dark-green background to the silver stems. It is thisprevalent growth of holly which gives so muchwarmth and variety to the wintry forest. Itclothes the underwoods and redeems them frombareness, and its deep shadows enhance thebrilliancy of the damp red fern, and the effect ofthe rugged lichen-grown trunk of the ancient oaks. And, in a year when
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