BOTANY 



between Fineshade and Wakerley, and the Nottingham catchfly {Silene nutans) was recorded 

 by Morton as growing in the corn, between Wakerley and Harringworth, but it is not 

 unlikely that he mistook the night-flowering catchfly (5. noctiflora) for it, and he also records 

 the fine-leaved sandwort i^Arenaria tenuifoUd) from between Fineshade and Duddington. On 

 the old common of Rockingham the penny royal [Mentha Pulegium) formerly grew, and the 

 broom-rape [Orobanche elatior), the O. major of Linnaus according to some authors, the Rev. 

 M. J. Berkeley gathered at Easton-on-the-Hill. 



The district is one in which porous soil is widely represented, so that few marshes are 

 contained in it, but at one time before the drainage of the fens, bogs and marsh occupied con- 

 siderable areas of what are now dry and sunny cornfields. 



The arable fields have yielded the ground pine [Ajuga Chamospityi\ the night-flowering 

 campion [Silene noctiflora), the upright ground ivy [Stachys arvensis), the thorow-wax (Bup/eurum 

 rotundifoUum), the calf's snout [Antirrhinum Orontium), the fluellen [Linaria spuria), the small 

 toad-flax [L. viscida), the blue pimpernel {Anagallis femina or coerulea), the field chickweed 

 {Cerastium arveme), the lamb's lettuce {VaUrianella dentata), and the all-seed {Chenopodium 

 polyspermum). 



Wothorp Grove has some interesting species, and its flora is very varied since it fwssesses 

 several kinds of soil, as dry calcareous marl, sandy loam and clay ; the ash trees are par- 

 ticularly fine, and some good beech are also present, while the box tree [Buxus iempervirens) 

 is naturalized. The small-leaved lime {Tilia parvifolia) is rather frequent. The pyramidal 

 orchis [Orchis pyramida/is), the viper's bugloss [Echium vulgare), the gromwell [Lithospermum 

 officinale), the grasses Avena pratensis, Bromus erectus and Brachypodium pinnatum, are examples 

 of lime-loving species. The wood poa [Poa nemoralis), the melic-grass [Melica uniflora), the 

 hawkweed [Hieracium boreale), are instances of sand-loving species. Clay-loving plants are 

 represented by the small teasel [Dipsacus pilosus), the dog couch grass [Agropyron caninum), the 

 meadow cranesbill [Geranium pratense), and the butterfly orchis [Habenaria chloroleuca). 



Stamford racecourse is probably drained to a considerable extent by the Welland. It is 

 remarkable for the luxuriant growth of the dyer's weed [Genista tinctoria), the horse-shoe vetch 

 (Hippocrepis comosa), and the grasses Bromus erectus, Brachypodium pinnatum and Avena pratensis, 

 while the marjoram [Origanum vulgare), the common basil thyme [Calamintha arvensis), the 

 rock-rose [Helianthemum Chamcecistus), and the pyramidal orchis are also common. The blue 

 milk vetch [Astragalus danicus) is more luxuriant than I have seen it elsewhere. 



The Welland district is represented in the flora of Leicestershire by No. 1 1 the Market 

 Harborough district and by No. 12 the Medbourne district. 



In addition to the plants already mentioned the Welland district has the following 

 interesting species : — 



Geranium lucidum, L. 

 Cerefolium Anthriscus, Beck. 

 Adoxa Moschatellina, L. 

 Caucalis nodosa. Scop. 

 Centaurea Cyanus, L. 

 Tanacetum vulgare, L. 

 Erigeron acre, L. 

 Heracium vulgatum, Fries, 

 Erica cinerea, L. 

 Solanum nigrum, L. 

 Hyoscyamus niger, L. 

 Digitalis purpurea, L. 

 Verbascum nigrum, L. 

 Mentha rotundifolia, Huds. 

 Symphytum tuberosum, L., 



wild 

 Hottonia palustris, L. 



very doubtfully 



Samolus Valerandi, L. 



Rumex maritimus, L. 



Polygonum Hydropiper, L. 



Daphne Laureola, L. 



Parietaria ramiflora, Moench. (P. officinalis, 



auct. var. not L.) 

 Lemna polyrhiza, L. 

 Ophrys apifera, Huds. 

 O. muscifera, Huds. 

 Orchis ustulata, L. 

 Gyrostachis autumnalis, Dumort. (Spiranthes 



autumnalis.) 

 Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus, L. 

 Allium oleraceum, L. 

 Aira caryophyllea, L. 

 Festuca rigida, Kunth. 

 Tolypella prolifera, Leonh. 



The Nene Drainage 



For the sake of convenience, and in order to make the divisions of the county more 

 uniform, I have divided the district which is drained by the Nene into three, as from the great 

 length of the course of the main stream in the county it would otherwise have been very 

 unwieldy. The first of the three divisions is therefore called — 



67 



