398 ON THE BOTANY OF \_April, 



F. capreolata), Field Madder [Sherardia arvensis), and Parsley 

 Piert {Alchemilla arvensis), we have nearly exhausted the com- 

 mon plants of these hills. A large proportion of them are 

 annuals and biennials. 



Before entering the names of the woodland or sylvan plants, 

 something may be stated about the woods themselves, and about 

 the timber which is grown in them ; for, in an economical point 

 of view, this is the most important part of their produce. 

 Uffmore Forest, between Clent and Hales Owen, is, as the poet 

 sings, composed of groves of Oak. Many other forest trees are 

 intermingled with the Oaks, but these latter are the principal 

 ligneous production of this woody tract. 



The soil, which is a stiff clay, is very suitable for bearing 

 trees of this kind. Some rather large plantations of Larch and 

 Scotch Fir [Pinus sylvestris) have been made recently by Lord 

 Lyttelton, the lord of the manor ; these are about the hills of 

 Clent and Fairfield. Either Oak or Larch and Scotch Fir com- 

 pose the staple of the woods here. The Ash is very common, 

 and is a tree which thrives well in these parts, but we did not 

 see any entire woods or plantations of it, nor any in which it 

 formed the chief part of the wood. 



The Chestnut [Castanea vulgaris) and the Sycamore {Acer 

 Pseudo-platanus) are common in parks and about lawns, as well 

 as plentiful about farmyards and in hedges. The Poplar is also 

 very common, but not the Poplar with erect branches (the 

 Lombardy Poplar), which is so common in most parts of Eng- 

 land, and especially in the vale of Belvoir, in Rutland and 

 Nottinghamshires, where there are lines or rows of this tree ex- 

 tending for miles, and as straight as the trees themselves. The 

 Poplars here are in habit more like the White Poplars [Populus 

 alba and P. rotundifolia) or the Black Poplar {Populus nigra) . 

 This species of Poplar, or some species resembling it, spreads 

 through Shropshire, and is plentiful in the Welsh counties of 

 Denbigh and Montgomery. 



The Mountain Ash {Pyrus Aucuparia) is also abundant in the 

 woods and hedges here, and has all the appearances of being 

 self-propagated. Another very showy shrub at this season — the 

 autumnal — is the Guelder Rose {Viburnum Opulus). The berries 

 or fruit of both these shrubs are extremely ornamental, but espe- 

 cially that of the latter. 



