ADDITIONS TO OUR NATIVE FLORA 105 



enough throughout America; but in Europe it is 

 apparently confined to two localities, both in the 

 neighbourhood of seaports having constant communi- 

 cation with the New World namely, the salt marshes 

 that border the river Adour at Bayonne in France, 

 and on the mud-flats of the Itchen, and similar spots, 

 near Southampton. In the latter locality it is now 

 the most conspicuous plant that flourishes on the long 

 stretches of mud which at low tide line the banks 

 of the Itchen ; and the most casual observer can 

 hardly fail to notice it as travelling on the L.S.W. 

 Railway he looks out of the carriage window after 

 passing St. Denys station. The plant seems to have 

 come under the notice of Dr. Bromfield about the 

 year 1836, and he speaks of it as then abundant, but 

 as having become established within the memory of 

 persons then living. " It is regularly cut down," he 

 tells us, " by the poorer classes at Southampton, and 

 employed by them in lieu of straw or reeds for thatch- 

 ing outhouses, cattle-sheds, &c., and more extensively 

 for litter, and subsequently for manure. Horses and 

 pigs," he adds, "eat it greedily; and for all those 

 purposes it is much sought after, so that hardly an 

 accessible patch is suffered to remain uncut by the 

 end of September." Since the learned author of the 

 Flora Vectensis penned these words, the plant has 

 considerably increased, and is now to be seen not 

 only on the Itchen, and on both sides of Southamp- 

 ton Water, but also on the banks of the Hamble, 

 and as far as Hill Head at the mouth of the river 

 Meon, which empties itself into the Solent over against 

 the towers of Osborne House. 



It is curious how occasionally plants will establish 

 themselves in a locality where formerly they were 



