VOL. XVII. (i) EXCURSION— COLESBORNE 19 



kederacea, Dipsaciis sylvcstris, Senecio crucifolius, Populus tremula, Rumex 

 crispus, Rumex acetosa, Rumex pulchev, Lactuca fnitmlis, Spergularia, Ranun- 

 cAdus parviflovis, Ranunculus acris, Smyrnium ulusatrum, Plantago coronopus, 

 A triplex patttla, Lepidium campestre, Cochlearia anglica. Allium vineale, Tra- 

 gopogon parvifloyus, Artemesia marilima, Carex ovalis, Fesiuca rubra, Ballota 

 nigra var. borealis. Salvia verhenaca, Papaver argemonc, Silcne maritima, Glaux 

 maritima, Cephalanthera ensijolia, Spiraea plipcndula, Melampyrum pratense, 

 Salix saprea, Helminthia echioidcs, Chrysanikcnium leucanihemum, Inula 

 helenium. Geranium sanguineum, Prunus spinosa, Linaria cymbalaria, Lychnis 

 diurna, Apium graveolens. 



Most of the Members left Chepstow by the 5.40 p.m. train.' 



HALF-DAY EXCURSION TO COLESBORNE, near CHELTENHAM 



Saturday, July 3rd, 1909 



Director: J. H. Elwes, J. P., F.R.S.. F.L.S., F.Z.S. 

 [Report by L. Richardson and G. W. Hedley, M.A., F.C.S.) 



The Members arrived at Colesborne Park — at the kind invitation of Mr 

 J. H. Elwes, F.R.S. — about 3.30 p.m., one party coming by brake from 

 Cheltenham, the other from Cirencester. 



Those present were : — The Rev. Walter Butt [President), Messrs C. 

 Bowly and W. R. Carles, F.L.S. [Vice-Presidents), Mr E. T. Paris (How. 

 Assistant-Secretary), the Rev. A. R. Winnington-Ingram, Col. E. C. Dowse, 

 Surgeon-Major I. Newton, Dep. -Surg. -Gen. G. A. Watson, Messrs W. Bellows, 

 F. H. Bretherton, A. Cockshott, J. M. Collett, F.C.S., F. J. Cullis, F.G.S., C. 

 Curtis, G. M. Currie, J. W. Gray, F.G.S., G. W. Hedley, F.C.S., J. N. Hobbs. 

 C.-R. Hooker, John H. Jones, E. P. Little, M. H. Medland, H. E. Norris, A. 

 E. W. Paine, Vincent A. Smith, W. J. Stanton, A. J. Stephens, and a con- 

 siderable number of visitors. 



Mr Elwes conducted the Members around his gardens and greenhouses, 

 which chiefly contained plants that he had obtained in various parts of the 

 world. They were all strange and unfamiliar, and constituted a wonderful 

 collection, few specimens in which could be obtained from dealers in the 

 usual way. 



One of the points that interested the chemists of the party was the diffi- 

 culty found in rearing oaks and A rbor vitts on the local soil : 60 per cent, of 

 the former and a big majority of the latter died after three or four years from 

 chlorosis — the leaves turned yellow and the roots died. Mr Elwes thought 

 the cause was too much " lime " in the soil, that is, calcium carbonate. It is 

 an important question in relation to afforestation. Such chemists and prac- 

 tical botanist-agriculturists as A. D. Hall, of Rothamstead, and Spencer 

 Pickering, of Woburn, and others, have been consulted, but as yet no solution 

 has been arrived at. There is no sign of wire-worm, but Mr Elwes thought 

 that they might be attacked by some insect such as attacks the vines 

 in France. Possibly there are a variety of causes, and Mr Elwes remarked 

 that it was interesting to note that there were hardly ever failures in oaks 

 when they were planted on red sandstone. 



I The Club is indebted to tlie generosity of the President for the blocks used in illustrating this 

 excursion, and to Mr E. Ballard, of Chepstow, for allowing his photographs to be reproduced. — Ed. 



