HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



275 



Echium vidgare, in all the splendour of full flower. 

 Never having seen such a multitude of these plants 

 before, it can be imagined with what pleasure we 

 gazed upon them with their beautiful blue flowers ; 

 they were to be noted of all heights, from 2S to 3 feet 

 down to plants of but a few inches. Throughout our 

 walk we met with patches of this plant, but in no 

 place so abundant as the field we mentioned. In the 

 lane we found on each side an abundance of Valeriana 

 officinalis presenting a pleasing appearance, with its 

 stately upright mode of growth. Here, too, we found 

 thick beds of Circcea lutetiana. Emerging on the 

 plain or table land of Conkwell, we found a bed of 

 Reseda Luteola. There, too, we encountered Crepis 

 virens, Senecio Jacohcea, Thymus Serpyllum, and of 

 course any amount of Siachys sylvatica. Walking on 

 a little farther, and descending a slight incline, and 

 again ascending on the opposite side, we came to 

 another open piece of ground, known I believe as 

 " No Man's Land ;" here we found Galium Mollugo, 

 Kjiautia arveusis, numerous plants of Lithospermum 

 officinale, a specimen of Orobanche major, specimens 

 of Linaria Elatine, Prunella vulgaris, Orchis pyra- 

 midalis, Bryonia dioica, Sedum acre, Malva sylvestris, 

 M. rotundifolia, large patches of the pretty Geranium 

 pratense, and numbers of the flowers I noted in my 

 former paper. We next took a path leading through 

 a copse of some size, and here we found Hypericum 

 perforatum, Epilobium hir sit turn, E. parvifloru/u, 

 E. montanum, Hippocrepis comosa, Rosa caniua, 

 and Listera ovala. At Conkwell, as also in most 

 localities through which we passed, we met with the 

 pretty Ornithogalum Pyrenaicum, which though by 

 no means a common flower, is very abundant in the 

 neighbourhood of Bath, in fact I meet with it in 

 nearly all my country rambles. By the time we had 

 obtained the above specimens we had traversed a 

 good deal of ground, though we fear that through 

 ignorance of the locality, the best hunting ground 

 (that beneath the Conkwell cottages) was left unex- 

 plored. On our way by the road through Winsley to 

 the hospitable retreat of Furleigh Villa, we gathered 

 Centaurea nigra, Papaver dubium and P. Rhosas. 



We were not so fortunate in our ramble to Wick 

 Rocks as we could have wished, owing to the late- 

 ness of the season. A variety of things had pre- 

 vented our starting off till summer had given place to 

 the decay and sadness of a late autumn morning. 



Many of the plants whose names we give here 

 have been found by various friends, but not by our- 

 selves, for the reason above stated, and in our own 

 case those plants which we did come across were in 

 seed. 



There are no doubt a very great many people 

 living in the neighbourhood of Bath, who though 

 they may have heard of Wick Rocks still have no 

 idea how to get to them ; for the benefit of such, then, 

 I will describe what seems to be the easiest route 

 either from Bath or Bristol. A rambler should take 



the train to Warmley, which is on the branch line of 

 the Midland Railway from Mangotsfield to Bath. 

 Warmley is a village with a population chiefly oc- 

 cupied in the coal mines there. On arriving at 

 Warmley you take the road to the village of Wick, 

 which is ab oU t two miles from Warmley. Juse 

 after passing the church, you turn off down a lant 

 to the left, and this takes you completely through 

 the gorges to the very foot of the lake. In summer 

 time we could well imagine that the scenery must be 

 of a most picturesque namre. The rocks, like the 

 more renowned Cheddar Cliffs, are of mountain lime- 

 stone, but few rocks are visible, owing to the 

 immense amount of foliage of all kinds which grows 

 upon them, and on the slopes in each side of what 

 may be termed the pass. 



Following the road we have mentioned through 

 the rocks, we come across Tussilago Farfara. Of 

 course only the leaves of this plant were found, but 

 it grows here in great abundance, so much so that 

 large tracts are covered with it, most of the leaves 

 were covered with Coleosporium Tussilaginis, the 

 scars of sEcidium Tussilaginis being well marked. 

 Here too we found many plants of Arctium Lappa, 

 also some fine specimens of Spircea Ulmaria still 

 in full flower. Farther on we met with plants of 

 Viola canina, and V. odorata, Malva sylvestris, 

 Agri/uonia Eupatoria, Mercurialis percnnis, and 

 Stachys sylvatica. Among other plants to be found 

 on the rocks are : — Clematis vitalba, Papaver 

 dubium, Arabis hirsula, Geranium colunrfnnum, 

 Hippocrepis comosa, Orobus tuberosus, Sedum tele- 

 phium, S. album ; (at the top of the rocks) Sherardia 

 arveusis, Scabiosa succisa, Erigerou acris, Hie- 

 racium sylvaticiim, Gentiana amarella, Digitalis pur- 

 purea, and Scrophidaria nodosa. 



These latter plants, however, I did not find myself, 

 with but one or two exceptions. The many fine 

 specimens of Quercus, and Pyrus aucuparia are 

 very striking features of the locality. The lake 

 which I have before mentioned runs up between 

 the rocks for some way, and serves to work the 

 machinery of a mill at one end. I was indebted to 

 a mill hand for a good view of this sheet of water, 

 and he gave it as his opinion that the chasm in the 

 limestone had been formed by "a hearthquake." 

 The day chosen for this ramble turned out very 

 wet ; we were not sorry to wend our way back to 

 Warmley and take the train for Bath, determined not 

 to be so late next season in exploring the rocks, so 

 that we may be enabled to give a more detailed 

 account of what we ourselves really see there. Most 

 of the plants found in the Wick district are different 

 from those found in the Bath district, and this has 

 been accounted for by the fact that while the new 

 red sandstone and lias are found in the valleys of 

 the district and the great oolite on the tops of the 

 hills, at Wick the mountain limestone, coral rag, 

 and old red sandstone formation appear in a nearly 



