100 NOTES ON THE RUBI OF WARWICKSHIRE. 



with a careful examination of a fasciculus of specimens fi*om the 

 late Kev. Andi-ew Bloxam, gave me a better idea of the distinctive 

 differences of the various forms than I could have obtained without 

 such valuable and needful help. In the summer of 1870 I paid a 

 visit to Mr. Bloxam, at his vicarage at Twy cross, and during my 

 visit gathered, under his special guidance, some thirty or more of 

 the Brambles which grew in and about Twy cross. This was a 

 grand help, and the da}^ was a red-letter one in my botanical 

 experience ; for, however valuable a well-preserved specimen may 

 be, its value is small compared with that of seeing the plant 

 growing, and having its leading features pointed out by a master 

 of the study. During Mr. Bloxam' s life I had the advantage of 

 consulting him frequently, either by letter or personally, so that I 

 am deeply indebted to him for much of the knowledge I have 

 gained in this study. 



To Professor Babington I am under even greater obligations, 

 for during the past twelve years I have constantly sought his aid, 

 either to confirm or determine many of the plants I have collected, 

 and this aid has always been given with a kindness and courtesy I 

 shall ever remember with gratitude. I have also to acknowledge 

 the kind attention of Mr. J. G. Baker to a series of these plants 

 forwarded to him in 1870. 



Few counties appear to be more productive of Brambles 

 than Warwickshire. This I believe is due to the great prevalence 

 of sandy soils in this county, for the Bramble is a true lover of 

 such soils. This partiality is evidenced by the fact that in the 

 northern portion of the county we get not only a greater abundance 

 of bushes, but a far greater diversity of forms than is seen in any 

 equal area on the calcareous soils of the southern portion of the 

 county. Another featm-e of North Warwickshire is the abundance 

 of wild lanes and luxuriant hedgerows, and in these wild and 

 unkept hedges the Bramble finds a constant and a congenial home. 



For convenience I have divided the county into two large 

 districts: — (1.) The Tame Basin, comprising that portion of the 

 county which is drained by the brooks, streams, and rivers which 

 feed the Tame ; this comprises nearly all North W^arwickshke, and 

 the whole of this district belongs geologically to the upper and 

 lower new red sandstone, the Permian, and a portion of the coal- 

 measures. (2.) The Avon Basin, comprising that portion of the 

 county which is drained by the various affluents w^hich feed the 

 Avon ; this comprises South Warwick and a small portion of North 

 Warwick. In this district there is a large area belonging to either 

 the upper or the lower lias, but in the northern part of this Avon 

 Basin the new red sandstone prevails. To illustrate these notes I 

 have forwarded, for the British Herbarium of the Natural History 

 Museum, a series of specimens, the numbers attached to which 

 correspond with the number placed before the name of the various 

 species or varieties in the following pages. I have thought it well 

 to send this collection to a pubhc institution, as it will enable those 

 who study these plants to form an opinion as to how far my views 

 and their own are in accord. With some one or two exceptions. 



