INTRODUCTION IxXlX 



vegetation. The extensive heaths of Greenham and Crookham are 

 about 400 feet above the sea, and the vie^v from them must be seen to 

 be fully appreciated ; it takes in the noble downs of Beacon Hill, 

 Si'dmonton, and High Clere on the south, while on the northei-n side 

 of the Kennet may be seen the pleasant line of country extending to 

 Snelsmore, Bucklebury, and Cold Ash Commons, and the high 

 grounds of Yattendon. In 1893, as the writer came, after a long 

 walk over the southern downs, through Sandleford on to Greenham 

 Common, the latter was to be seen covered with the white tents of 

 our soldiers ; and then in presence of the full array of war, but 

 without its distressing concomitants, few more striking and beautiful 

 scenes could be presented than that which met the eye, as it ranged 

 from the tented field to the golden furze, and the rich deep green 

 foliage of the alder gullies, or to the bluish shades which marked the 

 distant view ; while to the charm, arising from the beauty of outline 

 and the colour of the general landscape and the rich and varied 

 vegetation of the heaths in the nearer distance, was added the spell of 

 historic association which the vicinity of Falkland's last battle-field 

 and the defence of Donnington necessarily exerted on the mind. 



The wooded districts of Wasing, Brimpton, Aldermaston, and 

 Mortimer also offer scenes of great and varied beauty, and the flora 

 is of a most interesting character. A walk through these districts is 

 a never-failing pleasure. At one time we may explore the hidden 

 recesses of a deep alder gully, where in densest shade we shall find 

 Viola pahisMs and Chnjsosplenium, or on its borders catch the scent of the 

 fragrant Bog myrtle, or see the Cotton grass wave its plumes among 

 the dark orange spikes of the Lancashire Asphodel, and in damper 

 places admire the glossy leaves of the Bog bean ; at another time we 

 may roam over some sunny heath full of sentient life, and in an air 

 that is bracing without being chill get renewed strength to explore the 

 thick masses of heather and gorse, or examine the short turf where 

 patches of Millegrana, or Centunculus, or the fragrant Chamomile may 

 occasionally be found, or make our way through the woods, where the 

 Whortleberry covers the ground, to some sequestered pool of dark 

 peat- water, in which the beautiful Nitella translucens may be observed, 

 and see the graceful spikes of Carex Pseudo-cyperus reflected in its dark 

 waters. Or yet again, we may visit a village like Aldermaston, with its 

 picturesque houses and ivy-clad inn, passing through the rich verdure 

 of the meadows, or strolling up some sandy lane, where the hedges 

 are scented with Honeysuckle and Eglantine, and adorned with the 

 Prickly Shield fern, or wandering by the banks of the Emborne 

 stream itself, where masses of colour are afforded by the naturalized 

 Impatiens Uflora and Mimulus, and where there is a profuse growth of 

 blue Forget-me-nots, pink Ragged-robin, and yellow Winter Cress. 



