246 
ditches, are not, as a rule, more than 200, and 
usually only about 100 years old. And as the 
enclosure of a road, as will be seen, is of impor- 
tance in determining the flora of a roadside, 
these are really points of importance that need 
emphasizing. 
Planting of Roadside Hedges with Trees, &c. 
—The enclosure of roadsides demanded the 
planting of hedgerows and trees in order to 
keep cattle, &c., from straying upon the roads 
promiscuously. As the enclosure is modern, 
comparatively speaking, so also is the planting 
of the hedgerows. Where roads pass through 
wooded districts, however, hedges may be 
more ancient, the natural tree and scrub of the 
woods being utilized for the purpose. More- 
over, some roads that were not enclosed already 
had trees on either side of the road before the 
hedgerows were planted, some old avenues 
dating at least 200-300 years back. The in- 
fluence of planting in hedgerows and along 
roadsides is important alike in establishing a 
tree zone and in controlling the light for both 
hedgerow, or scrub layers, and the ground 
flora. 
The Preservation of the Roadsides.— Our 
English roadsides have been noted for their 
beauty; and this is a subject for praise well- 
earned in many a district still. But there are 
factors that are disturbing the conditions that 
make for the beauty of the wayside to-day. 
They may be divided into three sections: 
(1) upkeep of the roadside, (2) traffic of the 
roadside, (3) hawking and collecting of way- 
side plants. 
The upkeep of the roadside by Urban and 
District Councils results in the reduction 
of the wild nature of the vegetation to the 
clipped and neat appearance of a park walk. 
Chacun a son gott, and everything in its place, 
one may say, but the essential beauty of a 
country lane lies in its natural, not artificial 
character. So that the trimming of the hedge, 
which reduces it to a dead level of purely vege- 
tative branches, and also affects the under- 
growth, is misplaced enthusiasm. So, also, is 
the too frequent clearing out of ditches, and 
the plastering of their contents upon the hedge- 
banks. 
The rooting up of plants for sale along the 
roadside is another factor. Ina few counties, 
such as Devon, Surrey, Kent, Sussex, and 
part of Essex, local by-laws have been framed 
to prevent this. It is hoped all counties will 
follow suit. Since these lines were written 
other counties have actually done so. 
Influence of the Macadam.—The macadam is 
normally the artificial part of the road. It 
varies in different districts, owing to absence 
or presence of quarries suitable for road- 
HINTS AND NOTES 
mending purposes. Over a large area of this 
country certain quarries distribute their 
special materials, e.g. quartzite from Nun- 
eaton, granite from Mountsorrel, syenite from 
Charnwood Forest generally, basalt from 
Rowley Regis. 
These rocks afford, when broken down into 
grit and dust, siliceous particles, and accor- 
dingly, when distributed over the Eastern 
Counties or east of the Pennines, introduce 
new soil conditions, and may in this way 
help to disperse new plants in the district. 
For the margin of the macadam abuts upon 
the soil, and plants grow close up to the 
fringe of turf. Silverweed, White Clover, 
Strawberry-headed Clover, &c., are plants 
that grow commonly by the wayside where a 
siliceous macadam is put down. 
The macadam is liable when gritty to get 
swept on to the greensward, where, indeed, a 
pile of the sweepings is often laid. When 
macadam is sandy or gravelly the margin, or 
in an unfrequented road the grassy ridges 
between the ruts and the middle area of mac- 
adam, is often a special habitat for sand- or 
gravel-loving plants, as Trifolium filiforme, 
Menchia erecta, Bird’s Foot, Subterranean 
Clover. 
A chalky, flinty, or limestone, or oolite road 
is often made on such rocks which may have 
shallow soils, and in such cases the macadam 
is merely the soil exposed. Here the Rock- 
rose, Horseshoe Vetch, Squinancy Wort, &c., 
grow. 
Effect of Traffic—The maintenance of a 
road is for traffic, and this factor is one of the 
most important in determining the type of 
flora. upon a roadside. There are three or 
four classes of road dependent upon traffic: 
(1) Main road with frequent and heavy 
traffic, much used. 
(2) By-road with less frequent traffic, little 
used, but maintained as a main road. 
(3) By-road, where the road is not main- 
tained, and only the effect of vehicular traffic 
keeps the track open, and this produces ruts, 
and alternating strips of grass between. 
(4) Ride, or unused road, generally grassed 
over, and to all intents and purposes con- 
tinuous pasture or meadow. 
Along the first type the hedges are often 
close-clipped, and there may be pathways 
(tarred, &c.) at the side. Dust will almost 
invariably stick to and clog the leaves of the 
plants, giving the wayside plants a_ sickly 
appearance. But the frequency of agricul- 
tural traffic may introduce here a good many 
fresh plants. 
In the second case the first factor is less 
aggravated, and the wayside flora more 
