THE FLORA OP^ HANTS iii 



short, smooth turf, on which tlie shadows fall un- 

 broken. These downs, of which the loftiest are 

 Combe Hill, in the north of the county, and Butser 

 Hill, near Petersficld, support a flora of their 

 own, which is specially rich in species of the orchid 

 family. Hampshire, again, accordinj^ to the testimony 

 of old Izaak Walton, " exceeds all England for swift, 

 shallow, clear, pleasant brooks, and store of trouts," 

 of which the principal are the Avon, the Test, and 

 the Itchen. There are, however, numerous smaller 

 streams, such as the Loddon, the Hamble, the Meon, 

 and the Wey, on the banks of which characteristic 

 plants will be found. There are also large stretches 

 of waste and forest land, the home of many rare and 

 interesting species. The New Forest especially is 

 favourite ground to the botanist. It still consists of 

 nearly one hundred thousand acres, and its vast 

 tracts of open heath and bog produce some of our 

 choicest English plants. Among these must be 

 specially mentioned Isnardia palustris, now to be 

 found nowhere else in England ; the delicate orchid 

 Spiranthes cestivalis, or summer Lady's Tresses, found 

 only here and in Wyre Forest, in Worcestershire; 

 and the elegant Gladiolus illyricus, which is not un- 

 common in one or two localities. In the enclosed 

 parts of the forest the wild columbine and the beauti- 

 ful bastard balm are sometimes seen ; while the woods 

 about Beaulieu and Boldre produce in abundance the 

 narrow-leaved lungwort or blue cowslip, called by the 

 forest children "Joseph and Mary." It is interesting 

 to notice in the new edition of our flora that the larger 

 long-leaved sundew {Drosera anglica, Huds.) has been 

 found abundantly of late years in several of the forest 

 bogs. 



