67 



the woodlands of the Wirral, amongst which Gilbrook 

 once stood pre-eminent, but its timbered honours are 

 now reduced to a few tliinly scattered trees. Noble 

 banks of wood, however, remain at Bromborough and 

 Eastham, rich in Labiatce. The borders of the stream 

 from Patrick Wood upwards afford Musci and Eepaticce 

 rarelj to be obtained elsewhere ; and the winding valley 

 is sheltered all the way by steep and lofty banks, 

 where fns.j be found simny nooks in which Spring- 

 wakes the flowers and the birds weeks before Winter has 

 ceased to reign on the northern shores of the Mersey. 

 Turning westward, large plantations of fir crown the 

 Stourton promontory, quite to its extremity at Bidston. 

 Boleti abound in these, and near Flaybrick the plantations 

 aiford many interesting species of Gladonia. 



Very similar to these, botanically, are the fir planta- 

 tions skirting Simon's Wood, Rainford, Windle, Sutton, 

 and Bold Mosses. In the latter only I have seen in 

 profusion the lovely cyclamen-shaped flowers of the 

 Cranberry. 



The woodland walks in the Lancashire portion of our 

 district are very unlike those on the opposite side of the 

 river; the surface of the ground is flat, and even in 

 summer there is a formal cheerless character about the 

 woods. This is especially the case at Ince Blundell, 

 where the woods are enclosed by large moats, in which 

 lie buried the leaves of many seasons. Fine avenues of 

 beech do indeed redeem the character of the j^lace for 

 beauty, and though few flowers of much botanical 

 interest are to be found, the remark of Fries on the 

 peculiar productiveness of beech woods in Agarics, may 

 be verified there any time in Autumn, 



The wood called the " Old Roughs" at Kirby, Acorn- 

 field Wood, and the woods at Croxteth, are all admirable 

 localities for Fungi. Broad-leaved Helehorine and liuvtsorni 



