REPORT OF FIELD ISIEETINGS 1 59 



after consulting with the secretary (Mr. Robson), to abandon 

 this place and substitute Castle Eden Dene in lieu of it. I 

 may add that as I had previously visited this spot (Bradbury) 

 I was fully aware of its drawbacks and dangers. It was, 

 however, decided to hold a supplementary meeting later at 

 Bradbury in order to give the botanists an opportunity of 

 seeing these rare and beautiful ballast plants, brought under 

 our notice by Mr. E. Potts, one of our fellow members*''. 



The Castle Eden meeting was held on the 13th July. 

 Again the day was delightfully fine. Arriving at Castle Eden 

 Station, early in the afternoon, we started at once for the Dene, 

 which we reached shortly, after passing through a field where 

 harvesting operations were in full swing in a field containing 

 a heavy crop of old land hay. 



Through the kind permission of Colonel Burdon, we now 

 passed through the gate into the Dene — a veritable paradise 

 to the North Country naturalist. The Dene was at the height 

 of its sylvan beauty. The magnificent forest trees, the choice 

 and rare variety of wild flowers and ferns, the limestone crags 

 and caverns, and the presence and variety of bird life, form a. 

 sort of natural museum in which the botanist, geologist, and 

 ornithologist may each renew his acquaintance, as well as 

 even add new matter and facts to his knowledge of 

 nature. The Gunner's Pool, the romantic little spot first 

 visited, owes its presence to a "trouble" or fault below the 

 limestone. 



Amongst some remarkably fine trees I noticed the follow- 

 ing : — Elm, Beech, Sycamore, Lime, Oak, Ash, Hornbeam, 

 Poplar, Birch, Yew, Larch, Scotch Pine, Holly, Aspen, Alder, 

 and Rowan or Mountain Ash. Ivy hangs prodigiously and 

 gracefully over the declivities and recesses of the limestone 

 escarpments. The beeches grow to great perfection in their 

 favourite habitat of limestone soil. An avenue of yews is one 

 of the features of the Dene. 



* See note on "Ballast Plants at Bradbury, Co. Durham," by Mr. 

 Et-lvvard Potts in Nat- Hist, Trans., vol. xiv., 1903, p. 283. 



