550 Natural History in the English Counties : — 



plant, and now possess a good dried one. It is but lately, 

 and that by chance, that youi* Magazine has met my eye, or 

 I would earlier have communicated this fact. I am, Sir, 

 yours, &c. — Henry Creed, Chedhurgh Rectory, near ^ury 

 St. Edmunds, Feb, 9. 1832. 



LANCASHIRE. 



Observations on the Limestone district of Yealand, near 

 Lancaster, and on the Vegetable Phenomena displayed by the 

 Growth of Plants on one of its rocky Hills, — The mountain 

 limestone of this district, extending from the village of Warton 

 to Kendal on the north, and from the Bay of Morecambe 

 far eastward into Yorkshire, presents many fine features in 

 the landscape. The outline of the hills about Yealand is of 

 an abrupt character; the stratification of the rock being in 

 general much inclined, the strata frequently terminate " into 

 day" towards the summit of the mountain, presenting a bold 

 precipitous crest, beneath which lies the motionless stream 

 (if I may so express it) of the debris or fragments which have 

 rolled down from the crag above. Farlton Knot, Warton 

 Crag, Arnside Fell, Whitbarrow and Cringlebarrow Scars, 

 are the principal hills of this description insight of Yealand :' 

 they range in elevation above the sea (by estimation) from 200 

 to 800 or more feet. 



Cringlebarrow Scar, the immediate object of my notice, 

 forms part of a ridge of hills, on the east side of which the 

 pretty village of Yealand is situated. Its eastern declivity 

 exhibits a few cultivated fields and verdant meadows, with 

 plantations of slow growth. The dip of the rock being towards 

 the west, the strata stand out on the eastern side (where not 

 covered with vegetation) somewhat in the form of stairs ; 

 between the steps of which appear sheepwalks or plantations 

 of fir tree. The summit of the *' scar " is formed by the 

 termination or " cropping out" of the upper stratum, which 

 dipping at an angle of about 16° towards the sea, to the west, 

 presents on that side an inclined plane or floor of rock, of 

 some acres in extent. The surface of this upper bed of rock 

 presents a very curious spectacle for the geologist; it is 

 cracked {cringled?) in all directions, representing on a grand 

 scale the appearance of an earthy precipitate, when undergoing, 

 in the hands of the chemist, a slow evaporation to dryness. 

 So striking is the similarity to that chemical result, that it is 

 scarcely possible to avoid the conclusion that the rock must 

 have once been in a soft moist state of consistency ; and that 

 by a loss of the moisture, in the process of drying, the whole 

 surface has shrunk or collapsed in all directions, and thus has 



