NOTES ON A SALT-MARSH AT BRANSTON. SI 
Oswald Mosley, in the ‘‘ Natural History of Tutbury,” published 
in 1863, states that “A few weak brine springs also appear near 
Branston, in the parish of Burton-on-Trent” ; and in a “ Flora of 
the Burton-on-Trent District,” by the late Mr. Edwin Brown, 
published with the foregoing, and also in a pamphlet by the same 
author on the ‘‘ Geology and Mineral Waters of Burton-on-Trent,” 
the occurrence is recorded for the first time of four maritime or salt- 
marsh plants at Branston, viz. : Juncus Gerardi, Scirpus maritimus, 
Apium graveolens, and Triglochin maritimum, the author stating 
that this is a fact strongly “corroborative of the belief that salt 
Springs rising near Dunstall flow across this tract of land.” He 
also records the probable existence in this locality of Scirpus 
Tabernemontant, another salt-liking plant. 
In the course of botanical rambles over this district, we were 
much struck with the undoubted occurrence, and, in places, 
luxuriant growth of the maritime plants above mentioned, and of 
another which we had the good fortune to find there; and we 
were thus induced to investigate the limits.of the area inhabited 
by these plants, with a view of obtaining some idea of the extent 
of country over which the brackish springs prevail 
One of us has also made a number of analyses of the water of 
the various ponds and ditches about which these maritime plants 
occur, with the object of ascertaining whether the presence of 
these plants is indicative of any unusual salinity of the water, and 
the results of these have been most satisfactory. 
The following are the maritime plants we have found growing 
at Branston :— 
Apium graveolens, the Wild Celery. 
Scirpus maritimus, the Salt Marsh Club-rush. 
Juncus Gerardi, the Mud Rush. 
Scirpus Tabernemontani, the Glaucous Club-rush. 
Samolus Valerandi, the Brookweed. 
Rumex maritimus, the Golden Dock. 
Of these, the first three are plants inhabiting salt-marshes only, 
but the others, though preferring salt water, are not entirely con- 
fined to saline places. The existence of all these plants at 
