2 AN OUTLINE OP THE FLOEA OF SUSSEX. 



in Sussex. I prefer printing my list as it is, leaving the work of re- 

 vision to others. 



Mr. Roper, the President of the Eastbourne Natural History 

 Society, has already published a " Flora of Eastbourne," the boundaries 

 of which coincide with my Cuckmere district, noticed at p. 246 of this 

 volume ; and the Lewes Nat. Hist. Soc. has announced its intention to 

 publish the botany and zoology of East Sussex, which includes four of 

 my districts, namely, the Ouse, Cuckmere, East Rother, and Med way ; 

 and the Chichester naturalists are actively engaged upon a Flora of 

 the western part of the county. It is to be hoped the plan will in all 

 cases be adopted of admitting only such species as have been found 

 within, say, the last five years, using my list simply as a basis for 

 comparison. Although I include all the species and forms known on 

 good evidence to have existed at some time, I have rejected a number 

 of evidently false records, made by persons utterly ignorant of the 

 distribution of plants. 



It is not necessary that I should particularise what I have rejected, 

 but further on will be found a list of the principal contributors, and 

 other sources of information. I may mention that I have explored the 

 Medway district very little, and having no correspondent within its 

 boundaries, the list.for that part of the county is still very incom- 

 plete. Disregarding slight varieties and certainly introduced species, 

 upwards of 1000 forms or species are included in my enumeration. 



Divisio7i of the County into Districts. 



The area of the county is about 1460 square miles, and it may 

 be conveniently divided into seven nearly equal drainage districts, 

 whereof six drain to the south, and one only to the north, the latter, 

 of course, having no sea-board. The geological strata belong almost 

 entirely to the Secondary formations ; the Tertiary beds appear only on 

 the coast in the south-west extremity of the county, and in a few other 

 isolated spots. In general terms, taking an oblique section from 

 north-east to south-west, the strata may be said to increase in age 

 from the coast northward. Strips of Tertiary beds, chalk, greensand, 

 and the marl and sandstone of the Wealden formations constitute the 

 geology. The range of chalk downs is more than fifty miles long in 

 the county, with an average breadth of four miles and a half, and an 

 average altitude of about 600 feet, rising to between 800 and 900 feet 

 at Ditchling. It traverses five out of seven of the following districts. 

 The ridge of the Weald attains its greatest height at Crowboro' Beacon, 

 where it is upwards of 800 feet above the level of the sea, or nearly 

 as high as the highest part of the Downs. To be brief, the physical 

 character of the districts 1 to 5 is very similar, each having a portion of 

 Coast, and Down, and Weald. The sixth is altogether on the Wealden 

 formation, and extends to the coast, whilst the seventh occupies the 

 north slope of the Wealden ridge, and has no sea-board. Initial 

 letters have been preferred to numbers in the following enumeration, 

 because they are intelligible without further reference. Some of the 

 details of the boundaries will doubtless need slight alteration. 

 I. West Rother and Lavant. 



This district comprises the western portion of the county, bounded 

 to the east by the stream rising between Blackdown and Green Hill, 



