I'll cut it low down an' see." He knelt and with his knife cut the lifeless-looking branch through, not far above the earth.
"There!" he said exultantly.

"I told thee so.

There's green in that wood yet.

Look at it." Mary was down on her knees before he spoke, gazing with all her might.
"When it looks a bit greenish an' juicy like that, it's wick," he explained.

"When th' inside is dry an' breaks easy, like this here piece I've cut off, it's done for.