BOTANY 



clothes the hillsides to the exclusion of all others (Featherstonhaugh), and 

 the hard fern {Lomaria Spicant) is also especially plentiful in the hilly 

 districts and on the edges of the moors. At Edmondbyers may be seen 

 growing the rare little pink flower Erinus alpinus, which so curiously 

 springs up about the Roman camps. It is supposed to have been 

 brought by Spanish legions, and has thus long survived the old Roman 

 occupation. The limestone is exposed in the bed of the Derwent below 

 Muggleswick, and here the river has carved a deep channel through 

 precipitous banks, and winds in and out through a most romantic and 

 picturesquely wooded retreat locally known as the Sneep. The coal- 

 measures here also first make their appearance, and extend through the 

 lower part of the valley to the mouth of the river. Over a considerable 

 portion of the intervening country, however, thick beds of sand and 

 gravel occur resting upon the boulder clay. This formation results in 

 numerous landslips along the course of the stream, and thousands of tons 

 of ballast have been laid down to counteract the constant undermining of 

 the base of the hills. The Broad Oak Hills are composed of this sand 

 and gravel upon a bed of clay, and as far down as Winlaton can be seen 

 a mass of boulder clay and gravelly drift forming what is known as 

 Winlaton Mill ' scaurs.' Below the Sneep the Vale of Derwent 

 becomes very richly wooded. It possesses large tracts of native wood- 

 land, chief among which may be mentioned the extensive Crown lands 

 of Chopwell, where in former days oak was grown for the Royal Navy. 

 In the sheltered denes the oak fern [Polypodium Dryopteris) grows profusely, 

 often thickly covering the damp bank sides with its fragile, tender green 

 fronds. The lovely delicate beech fern (P. Phegopteris) is also widely 

 distributed in the valley, selecting wet mossy rocks and places within 

 reach of the waterfalls, where its slender creeping rhizomes can spread 

 themselves over the moist surface. Many of the rarer ferns which once 

 grew luxuriantly have been almost exterminated by ruthless collectors. 

 The royal fern {Osmiinda regalis), for example, was formerly abundant, 

 but has now no native haunt on the Derwent. Though not possessing 

 many specially rare species, the flora is very rich, and most of the 

 ordinary woodland plants are represented in profusion. The fine large 

 purple flowers of the wood crane's bill [Geranium syhaticum) produce a 

 lovely eff^ect in masses in the woods, and the foxglove [Digitalis purpurea) 

 is abundantly dispersed, though it becomes scarce north of the Tyne. 

 The daff^odil [Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus) grows wild in some of the moist 

 woods, and the rare maiden-pink [Dianthus deltoides) in the hilly pastures 

 in the neighbourhood of Shotley Bridge. The woods everywhere are 

 very favourable to fungus flora, those near Medomsley especially possessing 

 innumerable species. The encroachment of paper mills, ironworks, and 

 collieries has destroyed many good plant stations, and below Swalwell 

 the country gives place to a manufacturing district, extending to the 

 Tyne, of no further interest to the botanist. 



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