74 THE BOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



2. The degree of shade. In walking along a country lane 

 the hedgerow plants on each side are often very different. In 

 the month of June, on the shady side of a lane, the following 

 plants were noticed : Germander Speedwell, Herb Robert, Hedge 

 Garlick, Black Bryony, Red Campion, Buttercup (Ranunculus 

 acris), Bedstraws, Stinging Nettle, Dog Rose ; whilst on the oppo- 

 site side it was only possible to find the Mouse-Ear Hawkweed, 

 Thyme, a species of Geranium, and the common Bird's-foot Trefoil. 



3. The position of the hedge with regard to the pasture or 

 field and the road. The vegetation of a hedge between two pastures 

 does not vary as much as that of a hedge between arable land 

 and a road. The weeds of arable land will be found on one side of 

 such a hedge ; on the other the material with which the road is 

 mended will affect the plants in the hedge, for it alters the nature 

 of the soil. Thus it has been found in the Fen district, where 

 the roads are often repaired with chalk, that plants foreign to the 

 district have been introduced. As a rule there are no hedges 

 in the Fen country, but where there are hedges along high roads, 

 as in the western and midland counties, it is easy to note the 

 difference in the vegetation of the two sides of the hedge. Where 

 pastures and meadows are separated by stone walls instead of 

 hedges, the vegetation is xerophytic in character. In Cornwall, 

 the wall flora contains many not very common plants, such as 

 Valerianella, Subterranean Clover, Field Madder, and Trigonella. 



In conclusion, the following observations on pasture and 

 meadow vegetation may be suggested : 



1. The succession of Plant Associations. 



2. The difference of the time of flowering. In meadows, kept 

 for hay, the plants flower more or less together ; in pastures, the 

 time of flowering is different, one species succeeding another. 



3. The general character of the vegetation in each case. On 

 the whole, that of the pasture, especially if natural and not 

 artificial, is more xerophytic than that of the meadow. 



4. The hedgerow vegetation. The difference in the flora of 

 hedges situated between two meadows or pastures, and between 

 a road and a pasture or meadow, is worth noting. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. A. D. Hall, Rothamsted Experiments ; Buchanan, A Country 

 Reader. Part II. 



