VEGETATION OF MEADOWS AND PASTURES 73 



eighteenth century or the beginning of the nineteenth, are there- 

 fore of special interest. In " Tintern Abbey " he writes 



"Once again I see 



These hedgerows, hardly hedgerows, little lines, 

 Of sportive wood run wild." 



Does this denote that these hedges had but lately been planted 

 in 1798, the date of the poem? In "Margaret" he speaks of 

 "two tall hedgerows of thick alder boughs/' and in "Lucy 

 Gray" of "a broken hawthorn hedge." 



At the present time the Hawthorn is the shrub most commonly 

 planted in hedges ; the Privet is also common, and amongst 

 hedgerow trees and shrubs may be mentioned the Elm, the Ash, 

 the Hazel, the Crab Apple, Elder, Guelder Rose, Dogwood, 

 Spindle tree, Rose. In autumn the berries of many of these are 

 conspicuous from their bright colouring, which attracts birds, and 

 thus the seeds are dispersed. The haws of the Hawthorn, the 

 hips of the Rose, the dark red berries of the Guelder Rose, the red 

 pod of the Spindle-tree, which on opening exposes the orange- 

 coloured coat of the seeds, are well known hedgerow fruits. Hedges 

 are sometimes so overgrown that it is difficult to say whether 

 the dominant plant is Hawthorn or some other shrub, such as 

 Hazel ; but it is generally possible to decide if a sufficient length 

 of hedge is examined. The plants that conceal the original hedge 

 are mostly climbing The Blackberry, the Clematis, the Con- 

 volvulus, the Vetches, the Woody Night-shade, in order to get 

 light, clamber up to the top of the hedge, which in those parts of 

 the country where hedges are not too frequently trimmed is a 

 regular tangle of climbing plants. Many an observation may be 

 made on the manner in which the plant climbs, whether by twisting 

 its stem or its leaf-stalk, or by prickles or by the development 

 of tendrils. The direction of twining plants, such as the Black 

 Bryony, should be noted. 



The herbaceous vegetation of a hedgerow depends on several 

 factors : 



i. The degree of moisture. If a ditch or a stream is situated 

 at the bottom of the hedgebank, plants which like a damp situation 

 will be found. (See p. 40.) 



