6 



haired hyacinth is sometimes called the tassel hyacinth. Parkinson says, " Th* 

 whole stalk with the flower upon it doth sometimes resemble a long purse tassel, 

 and so divers gentlewomen have so named it." The account of the plant fur- 

 ther stated that the seeds, when ground with wheat give pungent acridity to 

 the bread. 



The party now broke up, and while some of us again resorted to the church- 

 yard to examine further the yew trees, others explored the Bdw dingle to renew 

 their acquaintance with the limestone ferns of the district, and most of us, after 

 a pleasant stroll, reassembled in the orchard close by the " Mount," where we jjar- 

 took of tea provided for us by the kind and thoughtful hospitality of BIr. and 

 Mrs. Mynors. 



The district did not prove to be a very prolific one for the wild flowers of the 

 season. The ferns met with in our rambles were maiden hair, spleenwort, 

 Asplenium tricomanes, a variety of the common hard fern, Blecknum boreale 

 brittle bladder fern, Cystopteris fragilis, green spleenwort, Aspleniu7n viride, rigid 

 three-branched polypodium, Polypodium, calcareum, &c. 



On taking leave or the Aberedw rocks we all admitted how much the good 

 offices of Mr. and Mrs. Mynors and the Rev. H. Dew had contributed to the 

 success and enjoyment of the excursion. 



The third field meeting took place at Chepstow. On the morning of the 21st 

 of July a goodly number of us left Hereford by the Gloucester train, and tra- 

 velled as far as Grange Court station, when we took the South Wales line, through 

 a very interesting country to Chepstow. Soon after we left Grange Court 

 the " smooth Severn stream " came into view, winding its course through 

 its old lake bed to the sea, where, the wise man says, all rivers flow. Further 

 on we passed Lydney and its "black country," which forms part of the great 

 coal field of the Forest of Dean. Lydney was for centuries the port where 

 the iron ore was shipped that supplied the forges which formerly existed on 

 the Wye and its tributaries. Even as late as the beginning of the present cen- 

 tury iron was made at Tidnor forge, and there are many still living in the 

 neighbourhood who can remember how the sound of the ponderous forge 

 hammer used to echo along old Sutton Walls and the surrounding hills. 

 Charcoal was used in the smelting process, which was brought from the woods of 

 the district. It was not until long after its discovery that coal was used for 

 smelting purposes, even at the forges in the immediate neighbourhood of the 

 Forest. 



Soon after we had passed Lydney we crossed the Wye oh the tubular 

 suspension bridge, that instance of Brunei's bold conception and ingenuity, 

 whereby he contrived to carry the South Wales railway over the river at a high 

 level and at the same time to conform with the requirements of the Lordi of the 

 Admiralty by not obstructing the navigation beneath it. 



