AND THEIR INHABITANTS. 187 



appeared to have been gathered by kind Nature from 

 a large area. We separated, taking different directions 

 in the little wood. It was not to me unexplored ter- 

 ritory, but I had not seen it at this sweet season of the 

 year. I passed a clear brook, over which hovered 

 swarms of gnats ; on my right hand was a hawthorn 

 hedge in full blossom, and at every breath of wind a 

 shower of blood-stained snow fell on the mossy bank 

 beneath. A few yards further on the trees were very 

 dense, and there I found a stone on which I sat to 

 count my flowers. I heard a bubbling further on, 

 which led me by its gentle voice to a little pool about 

 6 feet wide, fed by a small stream of water. It was 

 shaded by a fine oak, and a natural wall of rock, about 

 10 feet high, bounded half its extent. The rocks were 

 rugged, but from their surface a luxuriant crop of 

 ferns and mosses grew ; shaded from the sun they 

 displayed those delicate green tints which live not in 

 the bright light. The water was cool and refreshing, 

 and as it poured down the broken leaf of a Hart's 

 Tongue Fern (Scolopendrium vulgar e) I tasted it." 



Among the plants gathered were the Wood Sorrel 

 (Oxalis acetoselld) with its red-jointed creeping roots, 

 trefoil leaves, and white delicately veined blossoms, 

 the Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum\ the Yellow Weasel- 

 snout (Galeobdolon luteum], and Marsh Red-rattle 

 (Pediculus palustris). 



The banks of the Exe, according to collections seen 

 by the author, afford about 360 flowering plants, among 

 which may be mentioned the Flowering Rush (Butomus 

 nmbellatus), and Marsh Orchis (O. latifolia). Near its 

 source the three Heaths (Erica cinerea, E. tetralix, and 



