178 NOTES AND NEWS. 



The Coal-Measures form a district of their own, extending from 

 a few miles south of Sheffield to near Trent Junction. The flora 

 of this part of the county is by no means remarkable. 



The New Red Sandstone formation prevails in the southern 

 part of the county, i.e., that part which is bounded on the north by 

 an imaginary line drawn from Ashbourne to Duffield and thence to 

 Trent Junction ; on the west, by Staffordshire ; on the south by 

 Leicestershire ; on the east by Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. 

 But in the south-eastern part of this division there occurs at 

 Tickenhall an outlier of the Mountain Limestone, with some of the 

 characteristic plants. In this district the plants peculiar to the infer- 

 agrarian zone are to be met with, and here the Rubi flourish. 



The rivers of the county are for the most part of insignificant 

 size ; the principal ones being the Trent, which forms the boundary 

 on the S.E., between Derbyshire and Leicestershire and Nottingham- 

 shire ; the Dove, which runs through Dovedale and forms the county 

 boundary on the Staffordshire side; the Derwent, the whole course of 

 which is within the county ; the Wye, the Lathkill, and the Alport, 

 which run through the principal dales ; the Amber, a tributary of 

 the Derwent ; the Etherow, on the extreme north ; the Hope, which 

 flows through Hope Dale ; the Rother, which is near Chesterfield ; 

 and the Erewash, a tributary of the Trent, and which serves as a 

 county boundary. But though the rivers are of no great size, their 

 smallness is compensated for by the beauty of the scenery through 

 which they flow ; that of Dovedale, Ashwood Dale, Chee Dale, 

 Miller's Dale, Cressbrook Dale, Monsal Dale, and Lathkill Dale 

 being peculiar to themselves ; the great masses of Limestone which 

 form the different Tors, such as Chee Tor, Matlock High Tor, 

 Pickering Tor, and Tissington Spires (the two latter in Dovedale), 

 adding to their beauty. 



Thus it will be seen that if Derbyshire does not possess so rich a 

 flora as its great northern neighbour, yet the one that is met with is 

 not to be looked down upon. And what has been done in the 

 county towards working out its flora from Ray's time down to the 

 present shows that much may yet be done. The writer of these 

 notes will therefore be thankful if fellow-botanists will communicate 

 to him any facts which they may glean from time to time, and which 

 may not be mentioned in his forthcoming Flora of Derbyshire. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



We learn from Mr. H. M. Platnauer, curator of the York Museum, that he 



would be glad if naturalists would assist him with information as to any facts of 



import nice bearing upon the subject of Hybridism in the Animal Kingdom. 



He is in correspondence on the subject with a French naturalist who takes a 



special interest in the subject. ~ ~ — 



J . Naturalist, 



