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THE BOTANY OF THE CALDEW VALLEY. 



By WILLIAM HODGSON. 



(Read at Carlisle.) 



As a native of the valley, I felt it would be well to commit to 

 paper a few of the most noteworthy fragments of botanical inform- 

 ation collected during a period extending over more than half a 

 century. Of the many valleys ramifying from the Lake District as 

 a centre, the one now under notice is equalled by few in picturesque 

 loveliness. Viewed from the rugged summit of Carrock, whence 

 the whole course of the river may be traced through its devious 

 winding along the Valley, from the slopes of Warnel on the west, 

 of Hewer Hill or of Lower Broadfield on the east, or from the 

 crest of Thornthwaite Hill, we are struck with the agreeable alter- 

 nations of timber and pasture grounds, until we approach the 

 grand parkhke scenery that surrounds both Rose Castle and Holm 

 Hill. 



The sylvan growth here has undergone considerable modifications 

 within my recollection. Hundreds of magnificent forest trees have 

 disappeared from the stations they once adorned. That the 

 Valley has ever been richly wooded is, I think, obvious from the 

 number of place-names in the district— such as "The Oaks" (two), 

 "The Ashes," "The EUers," "The Birks," "The Willows" (some- 

 times "The Wythes"), "The Hollins," &c. Descending even to 

 shrubs, we find "Hawthorn Cottages," "Hazel Springs," "Gill 

 Whins." 



