33 



satisfactory, for beyond the occasional grating of a pebble there was nothing 

 to try the nerves of the visitors, and they were left calmly to enjoy the beauty 

 of the river, the clear brightness of its water, and the large masses of the 

 great white water ranunculus, H. fluitans, peculiar to the river "Wye aud some 

 few other rapid rivers. Beautiful clusters of the Forget-me-not, i 

 palustris, were plentifully scattered along the banks, and upon one of .them, an 

 entomologist present observed a fine specimen of the Lcsia formicccformis sipping 

 the nectar from its lovely blossoms. 



For the first three miles the river wanders through a level plain, drain- 

 ing a pre-historic lake. Its ancient bed of varied rtones and pebbles with here 

 and there a large boulder, was plainly visible in many place?, covered by somo 

 8 or 10 feet of alluvial soil. 



There was a pleasant breeze upon the water, but a clear proof of the sun's- 

 heat on shore, and the activity of the flies, w,s afforded by the different herds 

 of cattle bathing themselves in the cool water. How pretty and picturesque 

 they looked ; and Vaga, as if proud of her own special breed of cattle, reflected 

 their colours in 1 brighter tints than their own. Why should not 



some of the agricultural members draw up for the Club an account of the origin 

 and history of the Herefords ? It would form a paper of practical zoology of 

 very great interest, and surely material for it would be forthcoming if asked for. 



A stranger was observed here upon the river : — 



"The Watar-Kly to the light 

 Her chalice rears of silvur blight." 



There was but a single blossom of this Queen of British flowers, Nymphaa alba, 



floating on the water — and of course the tuberous root had been carefully 



planted there, but it nmst be right well pegged down if it can resist long the 



force of the river currents, in its boisterous moods. 



The fine woods of Pencraig wore soon reached and the turrets of Goodrich 

 Court, which some people admire, gave place to the noble ruins of Goodrich 

 Castle standing well above the trees forming such a beautiful object from 

 the river. "This view" says Gilpin with all the dogmatism of art, "is one 

 of the grandest on the river, I could not scruple to call it correctly picturesque, 

 which is seldom the character of a purely natural scene." 



Here the boats as they successively arrived drew to the shore, and their 

 occupants — with an hour's grace— strolled pleasantly up to the castle and 

 inspected the ruins under the guidance of Dr. Bull, the president for the day, 

 who pointed out to them the most remarkable features of the fortress, its square 

 formation, the large round towers at the angles, the square Norman Keep on its 

 western side, the great thickness and strength of its walls, the moat ou the land 

 side hewn out of the solid rock (supplying the stone for the walls), the entrance 

 at the eastern angle between two towers, narrow, long, and dark, protected by 

 a drawbridge and pit beneath it, with portcullis after portcullis, loopholes at 

 the sides, and machiolations or holes in the vaulted roof above, for pouring 

 down red-hot sand, or melted lead upon the heads of any intruders who might 



