INTRODUCTION 



13 



SOILS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTIC PLANTS 



It will be seen that the soils of the southern Pennines fall 

 into three main types, namely, calcareous soils, siliceous soils, 

 and peaty soils. The ground waters of the calcareous soils are 

 alkaline in reaction, those of the siliceous soils neutral or acid, 

 and those of the peaty soils of this district always acid. The 

 siliceous and peaty soils of the district are more closely related 

 to each other than either is to the calcareous soils, not only 

 by the acidity but also by their low, soluble mineral-content 

 and by their floristic composition. There is also every stage of 

 transition from acidic siliceous soils to the acidic peaty soils; 

 and in the following table of plants characteristic of (though 

 not in all cases absolutely confined to) each kind of soil, several 

 species are necessarily given as characteristic both of siliceous 

 and of peaty soils. 



