FIRST SUMMER MEETING. Xxix. 



Time did not permit of a visit to St. Catherine's Chapel ; 

 but a move was made for 



THE SWANNERY 



where there were about 750*swans. Usually live cygnets are 

 successfully reared out of a clutch of five eggs. The natural 

 food of the swan is the widgeon grass, Zostera maritima. The 

 four duck decoys were next visited, by means of which 500 

 wild fowl have been captured in two days, and on one occasion 

 as many as 74 were taken in a bag at once. This portion of 

 the estuary of the Fleet is a famous resort of wild fowl, 

 including widgeon, mallard, teal, tufted duck, gadwall and 

 sheldrake. 



From the Swannery the party walked to the famous 

 SUB-TROPICAL GARDENS 



near Abbotsbury Castle, over which they were taken by the 

 head-gardener, Mr. Kempshall. Thanks to the congenial soil, 

 mild climate, and sheltered position, palms and eucalyptus, and 

 many varieties of sub-tropical vegetation from China and Japan, 

 Chili and Peru, India, Mexico, Brazil and Australasia, flourish 

 vigorously in the open. Some 7,000 varieties of trees and 

 plants have been actually catalogued, and in addition there are 

 many which have not yet been included in the list. Amongst 

 the items of special interest to which the attention of the 

 members was drawn were the Villaresia mucronata, the only 

 one in the country, a species of Peruvian olive, the magnolia 

 (on which no fewer than 20,000 blooms had been seen at once), 

 New Zealand daisies, the Callisteinon rigidus, cork trees and the 

 swamp oak (Quercus palustris). Before leaving the gardens, 

 the President expressed the hearty thanks of the Club to Mary, 

 Countess of Ilchester, for her kind permission to visit the 

 gardens, and to Mr. Kempshall for his work as cicerone. 



After tea, which was partaken of at the Ilchester Arms, a 

 short business meeting was held, at which six nominees for 

 membership were ballotted for and elected unanimously. 



