CiRC. 140 



BOTANY. — The excursion to Spurn ought to be well attended by working 

 botanists of the Y.N. U., seeing that this ' ultima thule' of Yorkshire is a remarkably 

 good, isolated, and fairly well-left-alone piece of ground, most suitable for botanical 

 investigation. It has been frequently visited in the past but there still exist reasons 

 for thinking that fresh and interesting discoveries of plants may yet be made ; and 

 at least there is much useful work of confirmation of previous records still to be done, 

 a full list being anxiously desired for the completion of the Flora of the East Riding 

 of Yorkshire, which Mr. J. F. Robinson has in hand. 



Flowering Plants. — Mr. James Frazer Robinson writes that to inland 

 botanists the following list will, he feels sure, offer many attractions. With the 

 exceptions noted it is the result of visits made to Easington, Kilnsea, and Spurn by 

 the Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists' Societies during the past dozen years. 

 The exceptions, in brackets, [ ] have not yet been recorded for the district but are 

 interpolated because there is a great probability of their existence at Spurn, and 

 they will, perhaps, keep our enthusiasts on the ' qui vive ' for fresh laurels. 

 {Thalictruin miiius\, Raimnaihis sardous [hirsittus), on the clay cliffs; {Glaiuiimi 

 hiteum\ Cakile, \_Cra/nbe, found north of Withernsea], Cerastium seiiiidecaiidruni, 

 Arenaria peploides, Buda inarina, Claytonia perfoliata, Erodhim cicuta7-iuin, E. 

 niaritiviiiin — a former record of the Y.N.U. — Irifoliuiii arvense and T. scabruni 

 together at a few hundreds of yards distance from the higher lighthouse, T. fragi- 

 fei-uiii on the liumber bank, Vicia lathyroides, Eiynguiiii viaritimiiiii, of which, as 

 of others, botanists should be sparing in their removals, Cichonwii intylms (clay 

 cliffs), \_Stat7ce liinoniitut, recorded for Flamborough, and Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire], 

 Arnteria mariiiiiia. Volvulus soldanella, Ciiscutas'p. ? recorded by Canon Maddock, 

 Plantago viaritima, P. coronopus, Beta viaritiina, Atriplex littoralis, A. po''ttt- 

 lacoides, Salicornia herbacea, Suceda maritima, Salsola, Ruiiiex inaritimus , Hip- 

 pophaS rhatnnoides, the ' dune thorn ' of the Dutch and the most abundant shrub on 

 the Spurn isthmus, Ophrys apifera on the ' Warren,' Jjtncus gerardi, \_Juiicus 

 baliicus], Triglochin viaritiinuin, Zostej'a marina, \_Z. nana'], Scirpus maritimus, 

 Carex arenaria, Ainntophila aruitdinacea, \_A. baltica, of which there is only one 

 known station in Britain, namely, at Ross Links, Northumberland ; its large violet 

 panicle should be seen with other grasses at Spurn as it frequently is on the Dutch 

 dunes], Agropyrum junceum, Lepturus Jilifannis, yHordcuin t/iarinzctn], and 

 Elymiis arenarius. 



Mosses and Hepatics. — Mr. J. J. Marshall states that Tortula ruralis var. 

 arenicola is the only moss he knows as having occurred at Spurn, and that T. 

 papulosa and Bryuin atropurptireum have been gathered at Withernsea. Mr. R. 

 Barnes is confident that the four maritime species of Bryum he has gathered in 

 Coatham Marshes should also be found in the Humber Estuary, and hopes 

 bryologists will keep a sharp look-out for them. 



Lichens and Fungi. — No records. 



Marine Algae. — Not many have been noted, the coast of Holderness lacking 

 lock pools and therefore being unfavourable for their growth. Amongst the rejecta- 

 menta have been found the commoner Fuci, including Halidrys siliqiiosa, and the 

 red forms Delesseria alata, D. sinuata, Rhodynienia ciliata, Griffithsia setacea, 

 Plocamiuvi coccinewn, Polysiphonia fastigiata, F. nigrescens, etc. 



VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY.— 



Mammalia. — Fox, Hare, Rabbit, Stoat, Weasel, Brown Rat, Water Vole, 

 Mole, Mouse, Common Shrew, and Hedgehog. 



Birds. — Mr. F. Boyes writes that the promontory of Spurn and its immediate 

 neighbourhood offer to the ornithologist one of the most interesting spots to be 

 found on the whole East Coast of England and as a resting place for migratory 

 birds it has perhaps no equal. The estuary of the Humber which ebbs out so far 

 as to leave miles of mudflats uncovered at every tide presents a most tempting place 

 of call for any wandering or passing migrants and there is no knowing what rare 

 birds, especially amongst the waders, may be found there during the period of 

 migration, whilst the perennial feast daily spread out before them induces many of 

 this class of birds to winter there. To name the birds which have occurred at one 

 time or another in the vicinity of Spurn would be to include a large portion of the 

 British list but as at the Union's visit the autumn migration has scarcely begun the 

 birds will be few in number in comparison with what would be found there a month 



