244. 
HINTS AND 
climatic conditions necessitated by the relation | 
of the cold winter period to that of summer. 
No large tree in this country, except the Pine 
and Yew, is evergreen. 
habit. 
The scrub also consists almost entirely of 
deciduous shrubs or trees. The hardy ligneous 
climbers are also deciduous, as the Honey- 
suckle. The Ivy, however, is an evergreen. 
A large part of the ground flora is made up 
of deciduous herbaceous perennials. Unless 
the woodland plants were as a whole perennial, 
it is difficult to understand how as annuals 
they could in the short growing period manage 
to germinate, and develop stems, leaves, 
flowers, and fruit; for the light is so feeble 
compared with that of the open pasture that 
assimilation would not keep pace with the 
demands of the plant for rapid growth. Hence 
also the prevalence of vegetative modes of 
reproduction. 
Pollination of Woodland Plants.—Apart from 
grasses, docks, and plantains, &c., which are 
largely pollinated by the wind, the bull of the 
meadow and pasture plants are pollinated by 
insects. 
The case is different in the woods. If one 
excludes beetles, which are very partial in 
their choice of plants for pollination, and cer- 
tain types of Hymenoptera, the group of 
flower-seeking insects is not so conspicuous in 
close woods asin the open. True Lepidoptera, 
especially moths, are frequent in woodlands, 
but the majority are not bearers of pollen. 
The Honeysuckle is a familiar example of the 
dependence of long-tubed plants upon crepus- 
cular moths with a long proboscis, such as the 
Humming-bird Hawk Moth. 
The main feature of woodland plants is the 
prevalence of wind pollination in the case of 
the trees. The Grasses are also pollinated by 
the same agency. Another feature is the oc- 
currence of cleistogamy, as illustrated by the 
Violet and the Wood-sorrel. A considerable 
proportion are moncecious plants adapted to 
self-pollination, whereas the dicecious species 
are in the majority in open habitats. 
The Dispersal of Seeds in Woods.—In a wood 
the struggle for existence is so great, owing to 
the abnormal conditions of light and heat and 
the density of the vegetation, that plants must 
necessarily adopt special means of dispersal to 
a distance. The trees themselves have set the 
example by being practically all dispersed by 
the wind. In this, again, they have a pull 
over the other plants, for being lofty their 
fruits are more likely to be carried the farthest. 
The lower strata of plants are also largely 
dispersed by the agency of the wind. The 
The Holly and the | 
Box are lesser trees which have adopted this 
NOLES 
Rosebay and other Willow-herbs have cottony 
appendages, which enable the seeds to travel 
like parachutes and to settle at a distance. 
Red Campion, Bluebell, and many other plants 
possess censer fruits, whilst others are pro- 
pelled by a catapult or explosive mechanism, 
as in the case of Wood-sorrel and Wood 
Spurge. 
Animal agency is also largely influential in 
dispersing seeds. Luscious edible fruits, as 
those of the Cherry, Rowan, &c., are so scat- 
tered. Ivy berries serve the birds in winter. 
Many fruits have hooks which catch in the 
coats of animals, as Enchanter’s Nightshade, 
Sanicle, Woodruff, Wood Forget-me-not. The 
Violet is largely distributed by ants. The 
small seeds, too, of Grasses and orchids are 
scattered by aid of the wind. 
Soil and the Woodlands. —The influence of soil 
is well shown in the case of woodland plants 
in the predilection of the several types of domi- 
nant tree for a particular kind of soil. But 
the ground flora is also made up of plants 
that prefer certain types of soil before others. 
Whilst most woodland plants live ina soil rich 
in humus, there are many that do not abso- 
lutely require it. Typical humus-loving plants 
are Wood Anemone, Goldielocks, Wood-sorrel, 
Enchanter’s Nightshade, Angelica, Ivy, Wood- 
ruff, Small Periwinkle, Wood Forget-me-not, 
Betony, Dog’s Mercury, Aspen, &c. A few 
are also especially addicted to a sandy soil, as 
the Lime, Wild Cherry, Strawberry (the two 
last need some humus), Wych Elm (also on 
clay), Oak for on clay), Snowdrop, Bluebell 
(both the latter need some humus too). Clay 
is preferred by Sanicle, Honeysuckle, Wood 
Loosestrife, Yellow Archangel, Twayblade, 
Ramsons, which are damp-loving plants, and 
they need some humus. Chall or limestone 
is required by Green Hellebore, Wayfaring 
Tree, Marjoram, Wood Spurge, Beech, Bee 
Orchis, Lily of the Valley, and here, again, 
there is some humus required. The Colum- 
bine, Holly, Mountain Ash, Foxglove, Wood 
Sage, as a rule, grow on more rocky shallow 
soils. 
Methods of Survey.—The first object to aim 
at in surveying a wood is to estimate the 
nature of the dominant tree type. This may 
be done by marking out squares, and numeri- 
cally counting or mapping the trees in such 
a space. If an entire wood is done the most 
perfect results will be obtained. It is possible, 
however, to estimate this factor by taking one 
or two small squares in different parts. A 
further fact to be ascertained is whether the 
wood is open or close, whether it is coppiced 
or not, and whether the tree types are artificial 
or natural. The character of the soil must be 
