60 THE MUSIC OF WILD FLOWERS 



side of the water, and on going round I saw a plant 

 which was new to me. It proved to be Nasturtium 

 sylvestre, Br., or the creeping cress, a scarce relative 

 of the common watercress. It may seem strange how 

 it contrived to get there. The species is very rare in 

 Hampshire, and has only been found once or twice in 

 the county. Doubtless, however, the seed had drifted 

 down the stream from some spot in the upper reaches of 

 the Itchen, and had eventually sunk in the mud opposite 

 College Meads. How long it lay buried in the silt at 

 the bottom of the water none can tell. At length the 

 mud was cleared out and deposited along the bank of 

 the river. And there, the following spring, the seed 

 germinated and sprang up and blossomed abundantly, 

 to the delight of more than one botanist to whom 

 Watermeads is hallowed ground. 



