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ral observer, it excited in me a sort of admiration, its stiff, erect habit 

 and harsh texture being in such perfect keeping with the wildness 

 and inhospilableness of its native place of growth. I am not aware 

 that the prickly bog-rush is applied to any particular economical uses, 

 though possibly it might be so converted. The flower-heads and 

 seeds, I was told, are a favourite food of pheasants, which are often 

 attracted thereby into the Fens. 



Lysimachia vulgaris. Frequent. Though naturally a moisture- 

 loving plant, and growing sometimes in the wettest places, it thrives 

 well in a common garden, and becomes troublesome. In cultivation 

 it usually bears much larger heads of flower than in a wild state, but, 

 like some other of our natives, loses much of its grace and elegance. 



Hottonia palustris. Common in the ditches. 



Samolus Valerandi. I have met with this plant in many different 

 localities; e. g., Warwickshire, Devonshire, Kent, the Isle of Wight, 

 north of England, &c., but generally rather sparingly; nowhere in 

 anything like the abundance, or such large and vigorous specimens, 

 as in the Whittlesea Fens. I believe it is a plant of very wide geo- 

 graphical range, occurring in New Holland, and in all the four quar- 

 ters of the globe. 



Slum latifolium, Phellandriiim aquaiicum. These, together with 

 some other aquatic Umbelliferae, grow to a large size, and thrive pro- 

 digiously in the dykes, making a handsome appearance. 



Pariuissia palustris. Sparingly. 



Drosera Anglica. Plentiful in one or two spots. This is the rarest 

 of the British Droserae. 



Rume.v aquaticus. Plentiful by the sides of the ditches, and very 

 large and fine. This plant supplies food for the caterpillar of Lycaena 

 dispar, as is well known to the collectors in the neighbourhood. 

 When the leaves of the great water-dock begin to decay, they change 

 to a bright colour, red, purple, or yellow, or a mixture of all, and are 

 highly picturesque and ornamental. In grandeur of foliage it is only 

 to be exceeded by the vegetation of the tropics. 



Alisma ranunculoides. Common in the ditches. 



Andromeda polifolia. 1 met with a specimen or two in one spot 

 only, but believe it occurs more copiously in other parts of the Fens. 



Nymph(Ba alba. Plentiful. 



Ranunculus Lingua. Plentiful by the sides of the ditches, and 

 sometimes growing in the water, and rising to the height of three or 

 four feet; a very handsome plant, and producing the largest blossoms 

 of any of the British Ranunculi. 



