ck without alighting on the ground.

The want most felt, however, is that of timber trees. There are few
_magnificent_ ones to be found near any of the lakes; and unless greater
care be taken, there will, in a short time, scarcely be left an ancient
oak that would repay the cost of felling. The neighbourhood of Rydal,
notwithstanding the havoc which has been made, is yet nobly
distinguished. In the woods of Lowther, also, is found an almost
matchless store of ancient trees, and the majesty and wildness of the
native forest.

Among the smaller vegetable ornaments must be reckoned the bilberry, a
ground plant, never so beautiful as in early spring, when it is seen
under bare or budding trees, that imperfectly intercept the tomb-stone
covering the rocky knolls with a pure mantle of fresh verdure, more
lively than the herbage of the open fields;--the broom, that spreads
luxuriantly along rough pastures, and in the month of June interveins
the steep copses with its golden blossoms;--and the juniper, a rich
evergreen, that thrives in spite of cattle, upon the uninclosed parts of
the mountains:--the Dutch myrtle diffuses fragrance in moist places;
and there is an endless variety of brilliant flowers in the fields and
meadows, which, if the agriculture of the country were more carefully
attended to, would disappear. Nor can I omit again to notice the lichens
and mosses: their profusion, beauty, and variety, exceed those of any
other country I have seen.

It may now be proper to say a few words respecting climate, and 'skiey
influences,' in which this region, as far as the character of its
landscapes is affected by them, may, upon the whole, be considered
fortunate. The country is, indeed, subject to much bad weather, and it
has been ascertained that twice as much rain falls here as in many parts
of the island; but the number of black drizzling days, that blot out the
face of things, is by no means _proportionally_ great. Nor is a
continuance of thick, flagging, damp air, so common as in the West of
England and Ireland. The rain here comes down heartily, and is
frequently succeeded by clear, bright weather, when every brook is
vocal, and every torrent sonorous; brooks and torrents, which are never
muddy, even in the heaviest floods, except, after a drought, they
happen to be defiled for a short time by waters that have swept along
dusty roads, or have broken out into ploughed fields. Days of unsettled
weather, with partial sh