226 RAMBLES ALONG THE WESTERN COAST. [AugUSt, 



tive locality for the naturalist, Yarmouth, that is, mouth of the 

 Yare ; but the Yare is not the only river which flows into the 

 sea here, as many of your readers know. It is an estuary which 

 affords exit to the confluent waters of three streams, the Wa- 

 veney, the Yare, and the Bure. 



These rivers flow for many miles through a glorious district 

 (particularly the latter) of drained and undrained fens. There 

 are many broads of water, as they are called in Norfolk, some 

 being over one hundred and two hundred acres in extent; and 

 there are numerous salt marshes, as well as swamps and bogs, 

 which make it a good locality for botanists. 



The day we reached the sands was a blazing hot one. Just 

 out of Yarmouth, on the north side of the Denes, we came up to 

 the side of a mill, of which there are several. By the side of a 

 wall adjoining the mill we found a quantity of Atriplex portu- 

 lacoides, and large patches of Centaurea Calcitrapa, both in 

 flower, on which were swarms of bees : e. g. Andrena florea, 

 Hylceus albibris, Saropoda bimaculata, etc., abounded ; the latter 

 plant was plentiful all along the coast, past the Ordnance Esta- 

 blishment. 



We came upon some sandhills which were literally teeming 

 with insect life, as ever}^ patch of verdure was covered with the 

 flowers of the l^eautiful Galium verum, giving out their pleas- 

 ing odours. Mixed with this were the Convolvulus Soldatiella, 

 as far as the eye could reach. We kept on our course towards 

 the north, arriving at Caistor, two miles from Yarmouth. Here 

 many of the people are employed in making nets for the fishing 

 trade in the neighbouring town of Yarmouth, as well as for se- 

 veral boats that are fitted out for fishing, and are called "along- 

 shore boats," as they never go far from land. 



Going through the village, which contains a population of 

 1203 inhabitants, we rambled to the west, into the marshes, 

 which are but a little way from the sea, thinking they would 

 reward a search. In this we were not disappointed, as they were 

 well stocked with plants, as the list I now append will show. 

 Here we spent three hours. The first plant noticed, the Water 

 Soldier, Stratiotes abides, was growing in abundance in ditches. 

 Although not in flower, it was so abundant that a ditch would 

 have aff'orded nearly a waggou-load of it. The following plants 

 were seen, some past flower, and some in flower. Thalictrum 



