CHAPTER XV 



FLORA OF THE RAILWAY 



FOR many years past I have kept a watchful eye 

 on the flora of our railways. For, strange as 

 it may seem, railroads afford a special attraction to 

 numbers of British plants. The most casual observer 

 must have noticed the extraordinary show sometimes 

 made by wild flowers along a stretch of railway em- 

 bankment. In places the slopes will be a sheet of gold 

 with the blossom of the furze or of the common broom. 

 Or perhaps the rose-bay or flowering willow-herb has 

 taken possession of a cutting, and the banks will be a 

 blaze of colour. 



And indeed, when one comes to think about it, it is 

 not strange that it should be so. A railway embank- 

 ment sloping to the south or west, under the genial 

 influence of the sunshine and the rain, is just such a 

 situation as many wild flowers delight in. The slopes, 

 moreover, are seldom interfered with, and plants can 

 fulfil their destiny of producing seed in peace. In 

 places where deep cuttings have been made, the almost 

 perpendicular sides will speedily attract some wall- 

 loving species. Often, again, especially in the eastern 

 counties, a dyke or ditch will accompany the railway 

 line for leagues together, and here aquatic plants can 

 flourish undisturbed. Even the ballast between the 

 iron rails on the permanent way will afford shelter to 



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