274 



Yorkshire Naturalists at Dent. 



journey up Whernside, for the investigation of Greensett Craggs and Moss, 

 lay through Deepdale to Gastack and was accomplished by motor. At 

 the latter place the party was taken in charge by Mr. Cheetham, who, 

 with a small number of other members, was camping at Ribblehead. 

 The. view from the summit of Whernside was well worth the effort that had 

 been required to gain it. From this point is spread out a panorama of 

 Pennine grandeur which cannot be surpassed among Yorkshire scenery. 

 The great slopes of Rise Hill, Widdale Fell, Ingleborough, Baugh Fell 

 and Shunncr Fell in the nearer distances, beyond which, tower fully forty 

 miles away, the peaks of Helvellyn, Scawfell and other Cumberland 

 mountains, all compose a cosmic picture which delighted those who 

 beheld it. The natural history of Whernside proved so interesting in a 

 general way that botanists turned from their plants to snatch a hurried 

 glance through proffered field glasses, at a Raven on the wing ; to examine 

 a nest of young Golden Plovers, which, until pointed out,by the President, 

 would have been passed unnoticed by any but the most experienced 

 observer, so closely did the birds resemble the mossy patch which formed 

 their nest. A Black-backed Gull, hawking the moors in search of grouse 

 eggs, a Curlew's nest, the nests of Snipe, Pipits and other birds, pro- 

 vided interest for all the members. On another occasion the zoologists 

 left their birds and beasts and gave themselves wp to a search for the 

 rare Dwarf Willow, Salix herbacea, immediately the discover>^ of this 

 plant became known. 



Such experiences in the life of a naturalist are unforgettable ; they act 

 as an incentive to the more serious part of his work, as well as add to the 

 enjoyment of doing it. On the present occasion the latter resolved 

 itself into an ecological and crytogamic survey by the botanists, while 

 valuable additions to our knowledge of both ttie vertebrate and in- 

 vertebrate fauna of the district were contributed by the zoologists. 



The types of vegetation existing on Whernside are shown with great 

 clearness on the east face. Here from i,loo — 1,750ft. the slope is covered 

 with wet grassland (' Grass-moor ') in which Nardiis, Juncus squarrosus 

 and /. effusus are most abundant. As in Reeth district {The Naturalist, 

 1920) this overlies the shales of the Yoredale series. Above this lie 

 Greensett Crags among Festuca ovina grassland (to 1,850 ft.), and 

 Greensett Moss (1,950 ft.), degenerate peat covered with Eriophorum 

 vaginatum and Calluna. The steep and broken slopes on this side of the 

 summit ridge support a sub-alpine grassland in which Salix herbacea, 

 Carex rigida, Lycopodium Selago and L. alpinum occur. 



Although Greensett Crags are formed of the same limestone and lie at 

 nearly the same altitude as the parts of Ingleborough richest in alpine 

 species, their flora is singularly poor, a fact probably due to their dryness, 

 as the drainage from above runs off down Force Ghyll. 



The feature of Whernside is, however, the extensive plateau lying 

 north of the summit at about 2,100 ft. This shows in a striking way 

 various stages in the denudation of Eriophorum peat, originally from 

 6 to 10 ft. deep. Patches of Nardiis on redistributed peat are common, 

 and just above the Tarns, large areas of bare rock detritus arc now 

 exposed, and on the eastward side of these areas wind and sand-blast 

 are rapidly cutting away the peat. It is, apparently, only where the sur- 

 face is no longer exposed to sand movement that any re-colonisation by 

 plants can be attempted. In slight and moister depressions, however, 

 a carpet of RhacomiU'ium lanuginosum re-colonises the bare stones 

 along with occasional plants of R. canescens, Carex rigida, Agrosiis 

 canina, Festuca ovina, Nardus and Juncus squarrosus. This carpet is in 

 turn replaced by Nardus and finally by Calluna. Where a thin layer 

 of peat has been washed on to the original stones, the grasses alone 

 appear to be the colonising agents. 



On the more exposed parts the only plant is stunted Calluna in 

 wedge-shape masses about a foot in diameter and three inches high. 



Naturalist 



