228 HULL SCIENTIFIC AND FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB. 



Tripoliiim grows near at the bottom of grass-covered ditches ; 

 all these are on the 1800 enclosure.* Plantago maritima and 

 Triglochin grow near the outfall of the drain on the 1826 

 enclosure ; in 1850 this drain was diverted through the new 

 enclosure, and in the newer part, Suceda maritima and 

 Salicornia herbacea still flourish. 



Three years after the enclosure of 1850 a spontaneous 

 growth of white clover covered the reclaimed land, which 

 seems to have been at a higher level and more fit for 

 enclosure than that obtained in 1897. From Oldham's 

 figures the lowest part of the former was 7 ft. O.D., and 

 would, therefore, be salt-marsh, whereas the lowest part of 

 the latter was quite destitute of vegetation, and the part 

 abandoned is still mud-flat only. The area which it was 

 intended to enclose forms a long, narrow, isosceles triangle 

 with its base along Patrington Haven and its apex near 

 Hawkin's Point, but one-third of this was ultimately cut off 

 by a bank parallel to that of 1850. In 1903 white clover was 

 abundant at the apex of the triangle, but in other parts it 

 was practically confined to a narrow strip about twenty 

 yards wide along the old bank. It seems, therefore, to have 

 appeared first on that part which was grass-covered before 

 enclosure, and such ground would be more extensive in 1850 

 than in 1897. The seeds are probably conveyed to the new- 

 ground by horses and cattle, and fail to germinate on those 

 parts which still contain a large percentage of salt. 



During the construction of the bank, and up to 1902, 

 Atriplex hastata was abundant on it, but only a few plants 

 remained in 1903. This may have been introduced with the 

 grass sown there to prevent denudation. Obione portulacoides 

 covered the greater part of the enclosure until 1902, but in 

 1903 it was present, with Plantago maritima, only in the 

 shallow drainage channels. Artemisia maritima also grew 

 along these channels and at the foot of the old bank ; it was 

 still in the latter station in 1904. 



There is no extermination of the salt-marsh species by an 

 advancing host of Mesophytes. The bushy growths of 

 Obione gradually dwindle and die off as the ground becomes 

 unsuitable, leaving bare patches which are only after some 

 time covered with moss and grass. In 1903 the chief grass 



* P. Coronopus is common at the edge of the Holderness cliffs, if 

 these are so low that the spray falls on the top, as for example, at 

 Neville's Dyke ; a narrow strip along the cliff at Kilnsea, which was 

 allowed to go out of cultivation in 1902, was covered with this plant in 

 1903. 



