lOO 



HARD W I CKE 'S S CIENCE - G O SSIF. 



frequent detours right and left into the wood which 

 borders the road on either side. The anemone, pile- 

 wort, dog-violet, and primrose everywhere met our 

 eyes, covering, as with a carpet, the openings between 

 the trees, and slyly peeping out from beneath every 

 tuft and bush. About halfway down the hill we 

 visited a piece of rough ground formed by old chalk- 

 pits and their debris. Here among the bushes we 

 found IJellcborns fcetidiis in great abundance, hanging 

 out its great handsome panicle of drooping green, 

 red-margined flowers. Here we were also delighted 

 to find in considerable abundance the pretty Spurge- 

 laurel {Daphne laureola) in full bloom. The flowers 



porosity enabling it to drink in all that falls upon its 

 surface. This dearth of water is one of the charms 

 wanting to render the lovely, undulating, wooded 

 chalk district perfect in its beauty. To the botanist 

 it is a source of annoyance, or rather regret, as it 

 deprives him of a large section of the common flora ; 

 viz., all the freshwater-loving plants. Directly we 

 leave the ridge, however, we meet with numerous 

 streams like that at Boxley, issuing in plenty from 

 below the chalk. 



Here we had a refreshing drink, and an equally 

 refreshing rest, after which we turned our attention 

 to our favourite pursuit. The wall bordering the 



BOXLEY H ILL 



Fig. S2. Escarpments of the Chalk. 



jiijjIiiiyiiiiilJJIi Liniiiiiiiiiii. 



Fig. S3. Diagram showing the Termination of Two Transverse Valleys, and Modification of Opposite Ridges. 



are very like those of D. mezer'mm, but green. They 

 are strongly fragrant, emitting a sweet, more or less 

 primrose-like scent. This, though deemed agreeable 

 by us, was thought to have a sickly-sweet odour by 

 others to whom we showed it. Bentham speaks of 

 it as " scentless " ; but how he could arrive at that 

 conclusion we are at a loss to understand. Surely he 

 never visited Bo.xley woods in March, or he would 

 not have fallen into so strange an error. In the same 

 place we were struck with the gay appearance pre- 

 sented by the rich orange-yellow seeds of the Iris 

 faiidtis, which remained clinging to the opened and 

 partially-decayed seed-vessels of last autumn. On 

 leaving the chalk at the foot of the hill, we meet with 

 a splendid stream of the coolest and most sparkling 

 of waters, reminding one forcibly of the beautiful 

 streams seen so frequently in Derbyshire. On the 

 chalk one never meets with streams of water, its 



stream was resplendent with flowers of the golden 

 sa.x\hs.gQ{C. oppositifoliiiiii), and the beautiful green 

 fronds of the liverwort. The grassy banks and the 

 lower lands perfectly blazed with the golden-yellow 

 of the pilewort. On the wall we found, just bursting 

 into bloom, the singular little Saxi/raga tridactylites, 

 Linaria cymbalaria, and the stone-cress {Aradis 

 petrad). In nnny of the lanes Tussilago farfara was 

 very plentiful. 



We now drove on past Pennenden Ileatli, which 

 was en fete, a kind of fair being held there on Good 

 Friday. The scene was gay in the extreme, contrast 

 no doubt adding something to the effect, as we had 

 spent the greater part of the afternoon in the woods. 

 Tents bedecked with flags eveiywhere dotted the heath; 

 swings, boats, roundabouts, the cocoa-nut-capped 

 sticks of Aunt Sally, and other similar sport-producing 

 apparatus, were thickly crowded together. Numbers 



