DAMAGE CAUSED BY PLANTS. 67 



woods, and to keep them quite apart from the forest weeds, 

 especially as some of them (Birch, Alder) frequently form the 

 object of cultivation. 



The following are the most important forest \veeds, and at 

 the same time those of most frequent occurrence, classified 

 according to the nature of the soils on which they are to be 

 found : 



1. On wet or boggy soil: Bog-mosses (Sphagnum), Hair-moss 

 (Polytrichum), Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos), Bog-bilberry 

 (Vaccinium uliginosum), Marsh Cistus (Ledum palustre), Cotton- 

 grass (Eriophorum), Sedges (Car ex), Bulrushes (Scirpus), Eushes 

 (Juncus), the last three in many different species. 



2. On fresh, fertile soil, or soil rich in humus: Easpberry 

 (Riibus idceus), Bramble (Eubus fruticosus), red Foxglove (Digitalis 

 purpurea), Willow Herb (Epilobium angustifolium), deadly Night- 

 shade (Atropa belladonna), Balsam (Impatiens noli-me-tangcre), 

 stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica), Hemp-nettle (G-aleopsis tetrahit), 

 Vetches (Vicia), and Clover (Trifolium) species, as well as ferns 

 and broad-leaved grasses of different sorts. 



3. On drier and more sandy soils : Heather (Calluna mdgaris), 

 Whortleberry, Bilberry, or Blaeberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus), 

 Myrtle-Bilberry, Cowberry, or red Whortleberry (Vaccinium 

 mtis idtea), Furze, Gorse, or Whin (Spartium scoparium), Broom or 

 Green weed (Genista), Groundsel or Eagwort (Senecio), the Mullein 

 (Verbascum), Hawkweed (Hieracium), Spurge (Euphorbium), the 

 last-named genera occurring in various species, and the narrow- 

 leaved meadow-grasses. 



The shrubs which occur most frequently on hills and valleys, 

 especially when the soil is fresh, are : Black Dogwood or Black 

 Alder (Ehamnus frangula), Blackthorn or Sloe (Prunus spinosa), 

 Hawthorn (Cratcegus oxyacantha), Spindle wood (Euonymus 

 europceus), Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), Barberry (Berleris 

 mdgaris), Holly (Ilex aqidfolium), Honeysuckle (Lonicera peri- 

 dymenum), Elderberry (Sambucus) ; on drier soil, Juniper 

 (Juniperus vulgaris), and on sandy soil, Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae 

 rhamnoides). 



In how far forest weeds are indicative of certain classes of soil 

 'maybe seen from the above classification; but it is principally 

 with reference to the physical properties of the soil that safe 

 I conclusions can be drawn from the appearance of one or other of 



