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BOTANY OF WYRE FOREST. 35 
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o 
and wildness of the spot. This tree would at this time have been 
in a flourishing state, had it not been so shamefully mutilated by 
rapacious visitors. The wood of this tree is very hard; the fruit 
is not edible in any state, it is so very astringent; it so astringes 
the mouth and fauces as to render it next to impossible to swal- 
low a particle of it. It is very probable that this tree, or the 
fruit, came from Normandy originally. 
Now away from the shades of the forest, away to the moun- 
tain, the moor, and the mead, to seek for fresh floral treasures, 
and inhale the fresh breezes that float on their surface, and leave 
the perplexing brake and treacherous bog behind. 
Now first I must stand for awhile in amazement on the ba- 
saltic columns of Titterstone Clee, to gaze on the surrounding 
wonders. The atmospheric pressure lessened, and the mind freed 
from care, the spirits become buoyant, as though I could soar 
into the regions of space. But my business is on ferra firma. 
The first object of attraction is the mighty wreck of masses 
of basalt, of all shapes and sizes, strewn abroad in every direc- 
tion in the wildest disorder, and around the mountain’s base, and 
also buried in the rich vulcanized soil everywhere. This hill, as 
well as its neighbour the Brown Clee, were upheaved at the same 
time out of a plain, probably when it was submerged beneath 
the ocean. The outbreak of this volcanic matter was through 
the outskirts, or the thinner portion of the extensive old red 
sandstone strata, which is distorted and shattered for many miles 
around, where many upheavals and slight outbreaks are observ- 
able. 
It would afford much more pleasure to botanical research if 
some knowledge of geology was acquired. It is exceedingly 
interesting to observe the stratal harmony of plants where they 
are planted by the hand of Nature, their adaptation to the diffe. 
rent soils, elevation, temperature, suitable for their perfect. deve- 
lopment; it is highly valuable for all vegetable culture, whether 
in the field, garden, orchard, or wood. The different strata in 
this district consisting of basalt, devonian, or old red sandstone, 
calcareous and siliceous grit, consequently a difference in its flora. 
Amongst the masses of basalt around the summit of the moun- 
tain, whose elevation is about eighteen hundred feet, there I find 
Saxifraga hypnoides, Sedum Telephium, 8. purpureum (here those 
two Sedums grow on the same spot; between them there is a 
