1861.] KENTISH ItOTANY. 337 



than they are at Folkestone. The combe of Folkestone does not 

 bear the deep basin-like form of that of Dover. The cliffs and 

 entire scenery about the latter town are remarkably striking, 

 unlike those of any other part of the south-eastern coast observed 

 by the reporter. 



Folkestone is certainly an enjoyable town, though not so 

 agreeable as its more celebrated and better-known rival. 



Our destination, on this the fifth and the last day of our botani- 

 cal excursion, was from Folkestone to Hythe, through Sandgate, 

 Shornecliff, Seabrooke, etc. 



Our way was along the undercliff, which has now become less 

 productive, in a botanical sense, than it was in the time of the 

 Rev. G. E. Smith, who botanized here about thirty years ago. 

 Enclosures and cultivation have produced this alteration. Pha- 

 laris canariensis was more plentiful here than in any part of our 

 previous journey — one of the many proofs that the centre of its 

 distribution is not where it is cultivated. Petroselinum sativum 

 was well estabhshed on these steep banks ; and Tamarix gallica, 

 though probably planted here, throve amazingly. No shrub 

 braves and endures the keen sea air better than this ; few shrubs 

 have a more handsome, bushy, and lively appearance. It is not 

 only an ornament to the cliff, but it might be used as a nurseling 

 or a protector for sheltering and raising more valuable but not 

 so hardy shrubs and trees. 



There is a small beach between Sandgate and its castle — for cas- 

 tles are plentiful in this part of the country, all built upon one 

 plan or after one model ; they are circular, like a stumpy cylinder, 

 or a torso, i.e. a human figure deprived of its head, arms^ and legs, 

 the height of which does not much exceed its breadth. The 

 martello towers are in proportion and figure not unlike a Stilton 

 cheese, and they are not very ugly ; but the proportions of San- 

 down, Deal, and Sandgate castles are exactly those of a double 

 or thick Gloucester, the diameter is about twice the height. Let 

 not the curious reader fancy that the south of England is orna- 

 mented and fortified with such noble erections as Windsor Castle, 

 or even like the smaller castellated edifices of Aberdeenshire. 

 These Kentish castles have no beauty to boast of; of their de- 

 fensive or their offensive capabilities, the less that is said the 

 better for them : for as picturesque objects they do not enhance 

 the attractiveness of the coast scenery; their defensive capabilities 



N. S. VOL. V. 2 X 



