FIELD MEETINGS FOR 1909 189 



the best of my knowledge its most northerly habitat — was 

 unfortunately missed, though seen by one of the Sadburghe 

 party a few days previously. Dammed back by the 

 approaches to the bridge, the Skerne, along whose banks we 

 were to wander, had brought a rich deposit of alluvial soil : 

 on this congenial bed the comfrey, marsh ragwort, greater 

 and lesser willow-herb, and burnet-leafed rose were freely 

 blooming, and at its edge the water-crowfoot and great 

 burweed. Bordering the stream, and dappling its surface as 

 the sunshine threw the tracery of their shadows, were the 

 willows and hazels ; while in the stream itself the true bulrush 

 was growing 6 to 10 feet in length. 



In the perpendicular side of a sand quarry some 40 to 50 

 feet in height a colony of sandmartins had honeycombed a 

 large area, and were entering and leaving their nests, feeding 

 their young, rapidly and incessantly. On our approach their 

 activity ceased, but standing motionless and noiseless at the 

 base of the cliff, their fears abated, and we had the opportunity 

 to note the velocity and accuracy with which each bird 

 entered its nest. 



On the sloping banks the meadow-brown and small blue 

 butterfly were hovering and fluttering daintily from flower to 

 flower in great numbers, and a fine specimen of the light 

 emerald moth was taken on the grass. Bird life, too, was 

 more frequent ; the note of the stonechat was heard. A halt 

 was called after our long tramp by the sandy edge of the 

 stream, where the pretty skull-cap was growing; the cattle 

 were lazily browsing and one felt- 

 It is summer, how beautiful it looks ; 

 There is sunshine on the grey old hills, and sunshine on the brooks, 

 A singing bird on every bough, soft perfume on the air. 



The district in which we had been working is near and 

 upon the Permian and Triassic formations, but owing to the 

 thick glacial accumulations little of the solid geology is open 

 to investigation. These deposits are awaiting systematic 

 enquiry both as to nature and distribution, but, generally 



