m ^ 



> 



i 





( 



_ .. . ._.ppose("[ tn.it a great 

 the low-lying region beyond (he Kscrick moraine, 

 ^tly occupy the attention 



i 



CiRC. No. 124 



GEOLOGY. —The Geological section will Ije represented by its President, 

 Mr. P. F. Kendall, F.G.S., and one of its Secretaries, Mr. J. AV. Stather, F.G.S. ' 



Mr. V. F. Kendall, F.G.S., writes :— The district docs not at the first glance 

 at the geological map strike one as possessing many attractions. No solid rock is 

 exposed at the surface nearer than the edge of the Wolds or the little isolated 

 kills of Trias near Sclby. Tlie drift deposits are, however, of exceptional, 

 almost of unique interest. Two great sub-parallel ridges of boulder-clay, sand and 

 gravel extend in crescentic form from the neighbourhood of Stamford Bridge respect- 

 ively through York and Escrick round to Billirough. These have been recognised 

 as successive terminal moraines of a great glacier that occupied the Vale of York. 

 Sections at various places have yielded cliaracteristic erratics such as Shap Granite, 

 the Quartz-Porphyry of Threlkeld near Keswick, the Carrock l-'ell Diorite and 

 Scottish granites, which indicate probably the remote sources from which the ice 

 emanated. With these far-travelled rocks are many stones derived from localities 

 within the County of York, for example the Carboniferous Rocks of Wensleydale, 

 and the Triassic ]<ocks of the Vale of York itself. There are but two breaches in 

 the southern crescent, viz. :— The one through whicli the Derwent flows and that 

 by which the Ouse comes out into the great alluvial plain north of the Humber. 

 -Ine low ground between and beyond the moraines is mainly occupied by a kind of 

 Warpy clay which has been regarded as the fine washings from the glaciers. The 

 fate Professor Carvill Lewis supposed that a great extra-morainic lake occupied all 



This and other cpiestions may 

 . - , ^ of geologists. No organic remains have been found in 



the clays but it seems probable that a systematic searcli would be rewarded. 



BOTANY. — The fjotanical section will be officiallv represented by its Presi- 

 <^ent, Mr. M. B. Slater, F.L.S., and one of its Secretaries, Mr. John Farrah. 



Mr. W. Norwood Cheesman and Dr. H. Franklin Parsons write that June is, 

 perhaps, the Ijest month for botanists in this district, and some rare and interesting 

 plants and a large total may be expected for the day's work. The best botanical 

 •"oute IS for about two miles along the river side past Barlby to Turn Head, thence 

 L-y road to the Common. Pi)npindla magna grows abundantly along the road- 

 side, whilst /'. saxifraga, the common species, is absent. Orchis ushdata should 

 ^e looked for. Alliiun scorodoprasiu/i and A. oleyatciiiii var. earinatuni and per- 

 naps_ another species will be in full character for determination. The Barlby ponds 

 require some little time for examination—here are found Lysiiiiachia vulgaris and 

 J^yUiruin salicaria. Lcmiia niiiior Howers here nearly every year. Some of our 

 Jiiost experienced botanists have not seen this plant in flower. ' In case the time is 

 too early the guide will send specimens by post to those desiring some when the 

 "owers appear. Riccia natans (the floating Hepaiic) is very plentiful, but R. 

 Jlplans wants conhrmation for this station.'" Proceeding along the bank is seen 

 I ''ogopogon praiensis bearing the fungus ruccinia traoopo}(i. Cokhiciun auiurinah 

 itruitmg), C<7;;;/^;^///.; gloiucraia, and C. latifolia. Of this latter plant Thos. 

 Johnson, in his edition of Gerard's Herbal, 1633, says: *I have seen this plant 

 growing on the banks of the Ouse between York and Selby, the [ilace where I was 

 norn. Near Turn Head the following should be recorded : 'rhalicfrum Jlavuni^ 

 '^(iponaria oficinaUs, Hitniidus lupulus, Aqitikgia 7:nlgaris (probably not native). 



The character of the Common is undergoing a change on account of partial 

 enclosure aud cultivation, and the plants seen to-day may be totally exterminated a 



e\v years lience. The following plants will give some idea of the nature of the 

 K|ound and the class of work which may be looked for. viz: — Corydalis chnucnlata^ 

 ^(^ntiana PneunionaiUhe, Pinouicida, Ilypcricuni elodcs, Droscra roiuiuHfolia^ {D. 



\^S^''[^i- and D. intermedia liave been rep(_)rte<l), Corniis sangiiinea^ Bidens remiia, 

 ^t^'ipartiia, Mcnyanihes, Anagallis tenella, Listera ovata, Hahenaria chlo7-antha^ 



Ytiiiin })iajiis^ Stellaria giaiica. About the ponds near Skipwilh are found 



J^ntha puicg-iian. and Helosiiadium repens. If time at Riccall permits sj^ecimcns 



ay be gathered of ChcUdonitim majiis and Rumex niaritlmus. The district is 



■^t rich in ferns, the rarer ones being Osmunda^ BotryiJiiitui^ OpJiiodossuui vul- 

 %\ V^'^\ and d^astrea^ oreopteris. Aspieniii/?! Pitta- muraria grows on' the walls of 

 no?i^'^^^^ Church-yard. Pilularia g/olnilifera was grfiwing a few years ago but has 

 in fx, '^ -^^^^ lately. There is much good work to be done by advanced botanists 

 ill the genera Kubus, Rosa, Ilieracium and Salix. 



^, bosses. —Mr. Cheesman notes that cryptogamic botanists will find plenty of 

 i'< on the Common and in the surrounding woods. Although very imperfectly 



