152 RAMBLES 15Y THE RIBBLE. [May, 



ivmnrA 7I110 ^'itAMBLES BY THE KIBBLE.''^ ^^^ "^^ ^^^^ ^'"«rt 



Buckley Hall, Buckley Delf, Ribchester Bridge , Ribbletpn Mopr^i, .^ 

 i)ui,oi ir. a! <iuHigher and Lower Brockholes, rjj ,,_^{rp j^^^g^^^^^ 



On^e'iofHlie scarcest and most beautiful plants offhis'lo'cality, m 

 Ribbleton Moor, is the Marsh Gentian [Gentiana Pneumonanthe) , \) . 

 which is abuifdant here, and its very ornamental dark blue bios- d 

 soms may be plucked by handfuls during the latter part of July ;d 

 and the whole of August. Tliis plant, like many other beauties w 

 of the vegetable realm, will ere long become a victim to utilita- )q 

 rianism. Another plant of equal rarity, at any rate in this ^• 

 county, though not of equal beauty, the Marsh St, John's-wort 

 {Hypej'icum elodes) abounds in the margins of the shallower i 

 pools, and is frequently accompanied by the Marsh Cinquefoil ' 

 {Comarum palustre) , and the Marsh Penny [Hydrocotyle vulgaris), 

 while dense masses of the beautiful Bogbean [Menyanthes trifo- \\ 

 liata) occupy the inner and central portions of the same pools. '' 

 The last-named plant is, like the Gentian, extremely bitter in 

 taste, and they are both esteemed valuable tonics. An infusion ii 

 of the Bogbean especially has long been a popular medicine in ' 

 England. It has been used for rheumatism, gout, scurvy, ague, 

 catarrh, and dropsy. In a pit on the eastern side of the moor 

 the least Water Parsnip {Sium inundatum) is to be met with, 

 and in several pits on the opposite side, the scarce Frogbit {Hy- 

 drocharis Morsus-rana) grows in some quantities, but the latter 

 plant is believed to have been here introduced. The narrow- 

 leaved Marsh Speedwell {Veronica scutellata), and the Marsh 

 Violet [Viola jjalustris), not unfrequently are near neighbours 

 in several places, and the round-leaved Sundew {Drosera rotundi- 

 folia) is to be met with in considerable quantities about the mossy 

 margins of several of the pools. The heathy portions of the 

 moor abound with the common Ling [Calluna vulgaris), which 

 is occasionally accompanied by the beautiful rose-coloured blos- 

 soms of the Cross-leaved Heath [Erica Tetraliw) . The common 

 Cotton Grass [Eriophorum angustifolium) is also to be met with, 

 as well as the uncommon lesser Water Plantain [Alisma ranun- 

 culoides), the latter, however, seldom blossoming in this locality. 

 A rather uncommon member of the Broom family, the Needle 

 Greenweed [Genista anglica), grows in some quantity' in '^£' , 

 small portion of the moor nearest to Preston, and on the left 



