246 



HINTS AND NOTES 



ditches, are not, as a rule, more than 200, and 

 usually only about 100 years old. And as the 

 enclosure of a road, as will be seen, is of impor- 

 tance in determining the flora of a roadside, 

 these are really points of importance that need 

 emphasizing. 



Planting of Roadside Hedges with Trees, &c. 

 The enclosure of roadsides demanded the 

 planting of hedgerows and trees in order to 

 keep cattle, &c., from straying upon the roads 

 promiscuously. As the enclosure is modern, 

 comparatively speaking, so also is the planting 

 of the hedgerows. Where roads pass through 

 wooded districts, however, hedges may be 

 more ancient, the natural tree and scrub of the 

 woods being utilized for the purpose. More- 

 over, some roads that were not enclosed already 

 had trees on either side of the road before the 

 hedgerows were planted, some old avenues 

 dating at least 200-300 years back. The in- 

 fluence of planting in hedgerows and along 

 roadsides is important alike in establishing a 

 tree zone and in controlling the light for both 

 hedgerow, or scrub layers, and the ground 

 flora. 



The Preservation of the Roadsides. Our 

 English roadsides have been noted for their 

 beauty; and this is a subject for praise well- 

 earned in many a district still. But there are 

 factors that are disturbing the conditions that 

 make for the beauty of the wayside to-day. 

 They may be divided into three sections: 

 (i) upkeep of the roadside, (2) traffic of the 

 roadside, (3) hawking and collecting of way- 

 side plants. 



The upkeep of the roadside by Urban and 

 District Councils results in the reduction 

 of the wild nature of the vegetation to the 

 clipped and neat appearance of a park walk. 

 ( 'hue nn a son i^'oi'tt, and everything in its place, 

 one may say, but the essential beauty of a 

 country lane lies in its natural, not artificial 

 character. So that the trimming of the hedge, 

 which reduces it to a dead level of purely vege- 

 tative branches, and also affects the under- 

 growth, is misplaced enthusiasm. So, also, is 

 the too frequent clearing out of ditches, and 

 the plastering of their contents upon the hedge- 

 banks. 



The rooting up of plants for sale along the 

 roadside is another factor. In a few counties, 

 such as Devon, Surrey, Kent, Sussex, and 

 part of Essex, local by-laws have been framed 

 to prevent this. It is hoped all counties will 

 follow suit. Since these lines were written 

 other counties have actually done so. 



Influence of the Macadam. The macadam is 

 normally the artificial part of the road. It 

 varies in different districts, owing to absence 

 or presence of quarries suitable for road- 



mending purposes. Over a large area of this 

 country certain quarries distribute their 

 special materials, e.g. quartzite from Nun- 

 eaton, granite from Mountsorrel, syenite from 

 Charnwood Forest generally, basalt from 

 Rowley Regis. 



These rocks afford, when broken down into 

 grit and dust, siliceous particles, and accor- 

 dingly, when distributed over the Eastern 

 Counties or east of the Pennines, introduce 

 new soil conditions, and may in this way 

 help to disperse new plants in the district. 

 For the margin of the macadam abuts upon 

 the soil, and plants grow close up to the 

 fringe of turf. Silverweed, White Clover, 

 Strawberry-headed Clover, &c., are plants 

 that grow commonly by the wayside where a 

 siliceous macadam is put down. 



The macadam is liable when gritty to get 

 swept on to the greensward, where, indeed, a 

 pile of the sweepings is often laid. When 

 macadam is sandy or gravelly the margin, or 

 in an unfrequented road the grassy ridges 

 between the ruts and the middle area of mac- 

 adam, is often a special habitat for sand- or 

 gravel-loving plants, as Trifolium Jiliforme, 

 Mcrnchia erecta, Bird's Foot, Subterranean 

 Clover. 



A chalky, flinty, or limestone, or oolite road 

 is often made on such rocks which may have 

 shallow soils, and in such cases the macadam 

 is merely the soil exposed. Here the Rock- 

 rose, Horseshoe Vetch, Squinancy Wort, &c., 

 grow. 



Effect of Traffic. The maintenance of a 

 road is for traffic, and this factor is one of the 

 most important in determining the type of 

 flora upon a roadside. There are three or 

 four classes of road dependent upon traffic: 



(1) Main road with frequent and heavy 

 traffic, much used. 



(2) By-road with less frequent traffic, little 

 used, but maintained as a main road. 



(3) By-road, where the road is not main- 

 tained, and only the effect of vehicular traffic 

 keeps the track open, and this produces ruts, 

 and alternating strips of grass between. 



(4) Ride, or unused road, generally grassed 

 over, and to all intents and purposes con- 

 tinuous pasture or meadow. 



Along the first type the hedges are often 

 close-clipped, and there may be pathways 

 (tarred, &c.) at the side. Dust will almost 

 invariably stick to and clog the leaves of the 

 plants, giving the wayside plants a sickly 

 appearance. But the frequency of agricul- 

 tural traffic may introduce here a good many 

 fresh plants. 



In the second case the first factor is less 

 aggravated, and the wayside flora more 



