SCIENCE-GOSSir. 



8i 



srp-MKR(;i:i) iorests xicar ii()\i..\ki:. 



Hy v.. J. ItuRCEss Soi'i', K.E.S, 



VJ l!AI\ till.' oxtrcmt; wcstcin piiiiu of llio short. 

 ■'■^ length of coaslUiic which constitutes the most 

 northerly boun<hiry of the county of Cheshire is 

 situate, what was until a few years aj,'o the little 

 fishing hamlet of Hoylake, but which has now be- 

 come uniteil with a neighbouring village to form 

 the township ami seaside resort of Iloylake-cuni- 



Sl'liMKRc.Ko Forest, near Hovl.\kk. 



themselves I will select that to the Submerged 

 Forest, both on account of its general interest and 

 the ease with which it can be reached. 



These ancient forest remains lie due east of Hoy- 

 lake, and can be reached in half-an-hour's stroll 

 along the shore, or by taking the train to Meets 

 and following the sandy lane on to the sandhills 

 near Dove Point. -V time should be chosen when 

 the tide is well out, a matter easy of accomplish- 

 • ment on a flat coast like that of the Wirral, where 

 the water recedes to a considerable distance. 

 , Should the first-named route be decided upon, the 

 .' pedestrian mav be interested to know that amongst 

 - ' the sandhills which lie to the right between the 

 '^ end of the promenade and the house discerned at 

 ri the point some half-mile further on, there exist 

 A large colonies of Culhtei c-iiniciilaria. This is our 

 l famous "Wallasey bee," so-called because it was 

 lirst found at, and thought to be confined to that 

 localilv, but in addition to Hoylake it has of late 

 vears been recorded from the sand dunes on the 

 J Lancashire coast, as well as from Chester and other 

 places. It is a plasterer and constructs its bur- 

 rows in the sandbanks. In size and general ap- 



West Kirby. Possessing between them both mild 

 and bracing climates, and being within ten miles 

 of the populous city of Liverpool, it is not astonish- 

 ing when once " discovered," that this dual-town- 

 ship at the mouth of the Dee should have grown in 

 size and importance to the dimensions it presents 

 to-day. I have said discovered, but re-discovered 

 would be a more appropriate term, for the neigh- 

 bourhood possesses a history of consiilerable in- 

 terest, glimpses of its past appearing at intervals 

 through a period of time stretching back for more 

 than a thousand years. With the alteration of the 

 coast and the silting up of its channel, which has 

 been more or less continuous since the middle of 

 the last century, and very marked and persistent of 

 late vears ; together with the rapid rise of the neigh- 

 bouring ports of Liverpool and Birkenhead, the 

 importance of Hoylake h.ad waned considerably. 

 Within recent vears, however, it has again appar- 

 entlv entered on a new lease of life, and appears 

 likelv soon to entirely eclipse any former claim 

 which it may have had to recognition as a residen- 

 tial place of note. It is not, however, of Hoylake 

 itself I wish to write, so passing over its various 

 cycling, golfing, boating, and other attractions, 

 propose in the present article to ir.vroduce the pos- 

 sible visitor to one of the many delightful walks 

 with which the neighbourhood abounds. Among 

 the excursions son>e cannot fail to prove of interest 

 to the most casual observer, whilst to the antiquary 

 and naturalist they will appeal still more strongly. 

 From the two or three which first nalura 



sugsrest 



SCHMERliEO FoRt-M, .NhAK HoVLAKK, EvVsTbK.N Em>. 



pearance C. ciinirularin somewhat resembles the 

 common hive bee, but is readily distinguished from 

 it by its thin posterior legs .and the wasp-like for- 

 mation of the tongue. These dunes also produce 

 many interesting moths, sand-wasps, beetles, espe- 

 cially .\phodii, and other insects. On the cliffs 

 bevond the house previously mentioned the beau- 

 tiful chafer, Annmala frixcliii, is usually exceed- 

 ingly plentiful during July and August. This 

 beetle may be seen either Hying or crawling on the 

 bare sand during the middle of the day. It is 

 upon these sandhills we should emerge had the 

 train taken us to ileols. A botanist may note on 

 the way from the station the clusters of small 

 greenish flowers of the nettle-leaved Goose-foot 



