CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES 453 



course is necessary there is the permissive clause in the bye-law which 

 may also be employed by collectors of herbs for use as drugs. In the latter 

 respect Mr. T. F. Wallis of the Pharmaceutical Society tells me that 

 dealers in drugs generally prefer those grown in quantity for the express 

 purpose as offering a standardised product. 



Much has been said as to the difficulty of enforcing a bye-law. This 

 is admitted but as so much of the damage caused is due to ignorance or 

 thoughtlessness the knowledge that an act is illegal does bring the matter 

 under notice. And the average person, however ignorant and thoughtless, 

 doesn't necessarily want to do a thing because it is forbidden. 



Again it has been suggested that County and Urban Councils are 

 among the worst offenders in destroying rural amenities. I grant that 

 these bodies badly need educating — in my own district we have suffered. 

 But we have a local Countryside Protection Society (affiliated to the 

 C.P.R.E.) which keeps a watch over the Council and offers advice and 

 tenders protests. We recently stopped a wholesale topping of trees by 

 an unskilled workman — and our suggestion as to the course of a path to 

 avoid sacrificing some trees was adopted. 



Bird-lovers and botanists share a grievance against local authorities in 

 the lopping of hedges and cutting of the grass verges along country roads. 

 Lopping of the hedges is a matter for the landowner except in so far as 

 they do not obstruct the road-view. The verges are the home of many 

 of our common plants and their ruthless cutting by the local authorities 

 in the spring or early summer is most regrettable. In March 1934 the 

 C.P.R.E. approached the County Councils Association on the subject, 

 but the Association, while sympathising with the Council in their desire 

 to prevent the indiscriminate destruction of wild plants, did not consider 

 it feasible for the highway authorities to take any action in the matter, 

 especially in view of the provisions of the Corn Production Acts, with 

 regard to the destruction of injurious weeds and the impossibility of 

 expecting roadmen to exercise the necessary discrimination. 



In view of representations from the British Association and the Wild 

 Plant Conservation Board the C.P.R.E. has recently again approached the 

 Association and suggested the postponement of cutting until July or the 

 early autumn ; also that cutting and clearing should be carried out only 

 for a fixed distance from the metalled roadway. At the time of writing 

 no official communication had been received from the Association, but 

 it has been ascertained that from the point of view of the Highways 

 Authority it is not a simple matter. Farmers ask to have the verges cut 

 as soon as the plants are in flower so that seeds should not be dispersed ; 

 the postponement of cutting until July would allow the spread of injurious 

 weeds. Moreover the verge provides a way for pedestrians and cattle 

 and must therefore be kept clear, and it is also a margin of safety for 

 motorists. It is however encouraging to note from replies received that 

 some County Councils are alive to the importance of saving the verges. 

 At a recent meeting the North Riding County Council decided to call the 

 attention of the Highways and Bridges Committee to the necessity, so far 

 as possible, of limiting the cutting down of plants in the byways and lanes, 

 so as to preserve the natural beauties and flora. We are informed also 

 that in Derbyshire the County Council cut only a certain portion of the 



