NOTITIJE BOTANICiE. 281 



disappearance of Digitalis puri)urea, as soon as we entered upon a 

 chalky or lime-stone district ; wliile, at the same time, Pastinaca 

 sativa, which had not before shewn itself^ became abundant. 



Having to remain a few hours at Oxford, I was directed by Mr. 

 Baxter, the indefatigable curator of the Botanic Garden, to a spot 

 about half a mile from the city, where Lythrum Hyssopifolium grows 

 in considerable quantities, and of which I gathered fine specimens. 

 My stay at Southampton was too short to enable me to make any ad- 

 dition to my collection, with the exception of Sinapis tenuifolius, 

 which grows plentifully on walls in the town. In the neighbour- 

 hood of Ryde and Cowes, may be found many of the plants that are 

 common to most of the British coasts ; such as Eryngium Mariti- 

 mum, Glaucium luteum, Cakile maritima, Salsola kali, Plantago 

 maritima, Statice limonium, &c. In a wood near Sea-view, about 

 two miles from Ryde, I met, for the first time, with Rubia peregri- 

 na, which, from its appearance, might readily be mistaken, by the 

 young botanist, for a Galium. Orchis pyramidalis was, also, grow- 

 ing luxuriantly in the same place. Iris fcetidissima is most abun- 

 dant in every part of the island ; as is, also, Scolopendrium vulgare, 

 which may be seen under almost every hedge. On a bank by the 

 side of the road leading from Cowes to Newport, not a mile from 

 the former place, I gathered Linaria repens, a plant found chiefly 

 in the south of England. Linaria spuria and Linaria Elatine, also, 

 grow in many parts of the island : my specimens were gathered in 

 the garden of the Ventnor Hotel, where they had sprung up as 

 common weeds. 



The neighbourhood of Ventnor, and indeed the whole line of the 

 Undercliff, is rich in botanical rarities. The UnderclifF extends 

 along the coast for about six miles, and, with its towering rocks, its 

 romantic villas, and its glorious sea-views, presents such a combina- 

 tion of beauty and grandeur as is scarcely to be paralleled. I can- 

 not avoid offering a few remarks, en passant, upon this singular 

 tract of country which may be regarded as a kind of terrace, on the 

 south east coast, and varying from a quarter to half a mile in breadth. 

 It is sufficiently elevated above the level of the sea to exempt it, in 

 a great measure, from sea fogs ; while, at the same time, it is so ef- 

 fectually protected from winds, by the rocky barrier and lofty 

 downs, by which it is bounded on the norths as to offer, perhaps, a 



