1902 Marsh Botany in Winter 55 



" I saw a specimen of T. natrix (grass snake) here two days 

 ago. True it was rather sleepy, but not sufficiently so to 

 allow of my capturing it. The date — October 21 — is rather 

 late for this species to be about." — C. M. Rogers, Wellington 

 College, Berks. 



** I observed specimens of the pipestrelle bat flying in 

 the lanes of the Monnow Valley, South Herefordshire, on 

 January 21 and 22 this year. In both cases the bats came 

 out of ivy-covered trees in which they had been hibernating. 

 Both these evenings were mild and warm." — T. H. 



Marsh Botany in Winter. 



By William A. Dutt. 



Any one who ventures on to the Norfolk marshlands in 

 winter — say towards the end of January or the beginning of 

 February — does well to provide himself not only with wind- 

 proof garments but also with waterproof boots. A week or 

 two ago when I traversed a considerable portion of those 

 widespreading levels, on which I have spent so many delight- 

 ful spring, summer, and autumn days, I found many acres 

 under water. It was not that there had been very heavy 

 rains, — January had been a fairly dry month, — but a strong 

 westerly wind had swelled the sea tides which came flooding 

 up the Broadland rivers, filling them so full that the 

 pump-mills had been unable to discharge the surplus water 

 which drained down from the uplands into the marsh dykes. 

 So before I had rambled far from the muddy "walls" 

 which serve as highways across the marshes, I had cause 

 to congratulate myself upon being provided with boots that 

 a reed-cutter or a dyke-drawer need not have despised. 



Even on a dull winter day there is plenty of colour on our 

 Norfolk marshes ; but on this particular day there were fitful 

 sun-gleams, which flashed on the snipe-haunted pools and 

 seemed to set the ruddy sedge-blades on fire. There were 

 grass-marshes, which at a distance appeared as green as in 



