Stainforth : A Humher Salt-Marsh. 225 



For thirty years Mr. Newbitt acted as Local Registrar for the 

 Royal Meterological Society, and took the records from the 

 instruments twice daily. In this, and in other directions he did 

 a lot of conscientious and valuable work in a quiet way. We 

 have had occasion to write to him on not a few occasions, and 

 in every instance found him to be most willing to give what 

 information was in his power. 



In his early years he had a taste for scholastic work. He 

 matriculated at the London University, was Mathematical 

 Master at Wesley College, Sheffield, and in 1871 established 

 a private school in Whitby, which he kept until he retired in 

 1899. He was a Fellow of the Geological Society since 1898. 



We extend our sympathy to Mrs. Newbitt and the members 

 of the family. — T. S. 



A HUMBER SALT=MARSH. 



T. STAINFORTH, B.A. 



An interesting Salt-Marsh plant association exists at the present 

 time on the Humber shore, south of Welwick and to the east of 

 the Patrington Channel outfall. The area covered by vegeta- 

 tion is bounded by the Humber bank west of Welwick (Humber 

 side) Lane and the Patrington Channel, and to the south by 

 barren mud-flats. On a visit to this place about the middle of 

 June my attention was drawn to some large masses of the 

 foliage and numerous undeveloped panicles of the Sea Lavender 

 [Statice Limonin(m), Closer search showed that a distinct belt 

 of this plant, consisting of patches varying from a few inches 

 to several yards in area, grew parallel to and at a few yards 

 from the embankment. 



In the Transactions of the Hull Scientific Club for 1901 (p. 

 234), Mr. T. Petch, writing on the occurrence of the Sea 

 Lavender in Holderness, says ' there are two small tufts, one off 

 Sunk Island and the other opposite Welwick ' ; and in the same 

 paper states that ' the whole of the Statice on the Holderness 

 coast could be held in one hand.' It is very gratifying to find 

 that the plant has made such rapid progress during the subse- 

 quent twelve years, as now it would be possible to obtain a 

 large quantity. 



The area near Welwick upon which the Sea Lavender grows 

 can only be reached by the Humber at extremely high tides, 

 and consists of a marshy depression wit}^ a very gradual and 

 almost imperceptible slope to the mud-flats. Indeed, the upper 

 edge of the mud-flats, by which the marsh is bounded on the 

 south, appears to be very slightly higher than the marsh itself. 



1912 July I. 



