244 



HINTS AND NOTES 



climatic conditions necessitated by the relation 

 of the cold winter period to that of summer. 

 No large tree in this country, except the Pine 

 and Yew, is evergreen. The Holly and the 

 Box are lesser trees which have adopted this 

 habit. 



The scrub also consists almost entirely of 

 deciduous shrubs or trees. The hardy ligneous 

 climbers are also deciduous, as the Honey- 

 suckle. The Ivy, however, is an evergreen. 

 A large part of the ground flora is made up 

 of deciduous herbaceous perennials. Unless 

 the woodland plants were as a whole perennial, 

 it is difficult to understand how as annuals 

 they could in the short growing period manage 

 to germinate, and develop stems, leaves, 

 flowers, and fruit ; for the light is so feeble 

 compared with that of the open pasture that 

 assimilation would not keep pace with the [ 

 demands of the plant for rapid growth. Hence | 

 also the prevalence of vegetative modes of 

 reproduction. 



Pollination of Woodland Plants. Apart from 

 grasses, docks, and plantains, &c., which are 

 largely pollinated by the wind, the bulk of the 

 meadow and pasture plants are pollinated by 

 insects. 



The case is different in the woods. If one 

 excludes beetles, which are very partial in 

 their choice of plants for pollination, and cer- 

 tain types of Hymenoptera, the group of 

 flower-seeking insects is not so conspicuous in 

 close woods as in the open. True Lepidoptera, 

 especially moths, are frequent in woodlands, 

 but the majority are not bearers of pollen. 

 The Honeysuckle is a familiar example of the 

 dependence of long-tubed plants upon crepus- 

 cular moths with a long proboscis, such as the 

 Humming-bird Hawk Moth. 



The main feature of woodland plants is the 

 prevalence of wind pollination in the case of 

 the trees. The Grasses are also pollinated by 

 the same agency. Another feature is the oc- 

 currence of cleistogamy, as illustrated by the 

 Violet and the Wood-sorrel. A considerable 

 proportion are monoecious plants adapted to 

 self-pollination, whereas the dioecious species 

 are in the majority in open habitats. 



The Dispersal of Seeds in Woods. In a wood 

 the struggle for existence is so great, owing to 

 the abnormal conditions of light and heat and 

 the density of the vegetation, that plants must 

 necessarily adopt special means of dispersal to 

 a distance. The trees themselves have set the 

 example by being practically all dispersed by 

 the wind. In this, again, they have a pull 

 over the other plants, for being lofty their 

 fruits are more likely to be carried the farthest. 



The lower strata of plants are also largely 

 dispersed by the agency of the wind. The 



Rosebay and other Willow-herbs have cottony 

 appendages, which enable the seeds to travel 

 like parachutes and to settle at a distance. 

 Red Campion, Bluebell, and many other plants 

 possess censer fruits, whilst others are pro- 

 pelled by a catapult or explosive mechanism, 

 as in the case of Wood -sorrel and Wood 

 Spurge. 



Animal agency is also largely influential in 

 dispersing seeds. Luscious edible fruits, as 

 those of the Cherry, Rowan, &c., are so scat- 

 tered. Ivy berries serve the birds in winter. 

 Many fruits have hooks which catch in the 

 coats of animals, as Enchanter's Nightshade, 

 Sanicle, Woodruff, Wood Forget-me-not. The 

 Violet is largely distributed by ants. The 

 small seeds, too, of Grasses and orchids are 

 scattered- by aid of the wind. 



Soil and the Woodlands. The influence of soil 

 is well shown in the case of woodland plants 

 in the predilection of the several types of domi- 

 nant tree for a particular kind of soil. But 

 the ground flora is also made up of plants 

 that prefer certain types of soil before others. 

 Whilst most woodland plants live in a soil rich 

 in humus, there are many that do not abso- 

 lutely require it. Typical humus-loving plants 

 are Wood Anemone, Goldielocks, Wood-sorrel, 

 Enchanter's Nightshade, Angelica, Ivy, Wood- 

 ruff, Small Periwinkle, Wood Forget-me-not, 

 Betony, Dog's Mercury, Aspen, &c. A few 

 are also especially addicted to a sandy soil, as 

 the Lime, Wild Cherry, Strawberry (the two 

 last need some humus), Wych Elm (also on 

 clay), Oak (or on clay), Snowdrop, Bluebell 

 (both the latter need some humus too). Clay 

 is preferred by Sanicle, Honeysuckle, Wood 

 Loosestrife, Yellow Archangel, Twayblade, 

 Ramsons, which are damp-loving plants, and 

 they need some humus. Chalk or limestone 

 is required by Green Hellebore, Wayfaring 

 Tree, Marjoram, Wood Spurge, Beech, Bee 

 Orchis, Lily of the Valley, and here, again, 

 there is some humus required. The Colum- 

 bine, Holly, Mountain Ash, Foxglove, Wood 

 Sage, as a rule, grow on more rocky shallow 

 soils. 



Methods of Survey. The first object to aim 

 at in surveying a wood is to estimate the 

 nature of the dominant tree type. This may 

 be done by marking out squares, and numeri- 

 cally counting or mapping the trees in such 

 a space. If an entire wood is done the most 

 perfect results will be obtained. It is possible, 

 however, to estimate this factor by taking one 

 or two small squares in different parts. A 

 further fact to be ascertained is whether the 

 wood is open or close, whether it is coppiced 

 or not, and whether the tree types are artificial 

 or natural. The character of the soil must be 



