Report of Meetings for 1885. By Jas. Hardy. 51 



For those of the Club's members who had passed the evening 

 at Hexham, admission had been kindly granted by Messrs. Fell 

 and Co., Went worth Nurseries, who are not strangers to the 

 Club, to visit their extensive grounds. A large caterpillar of 

 Dicranura v inula, or Puss Moth, had been kept in waiting to be 

 shewn, which has been plentiful this year on willows near Car- 

 lisle, although this was the only one detected here. By their 

 courtesy also, roses for button-holes were handed round and 

 accepted by the party. 



It would have added to the binding together of the topograph- 

 ical lessons we are receiving by these visits to Tyneside had we 

 visited on the previous day the high slopes above Hexham, and 

 traced on the opposite side the track we had to pursue, which 

 being on low ground precluded any extensive outlook. The 

 early portion of the route is parallel to and in close proximity to the 

 richly variegated county west of Corbridge ; and the rest comes 

 in contact with the rising ground N.W. from Chollerford which 

 we saw from the Roman Wall above Chesters. We have actu- 

 ally in three separate visits run as many lines of section, with 

 the Tyne as a basis, across a closely connected portion of that 

 rich district, and acquainted ourselves with most of its character- 

 istic scenes and historical associations ; only dipping in, I am 

 sorry to say, to its Natural History, which it is in vain to think 

 can be wrought out by excursions unless there have been work- 

 ers beforehand to make pre-investigations. 



Conspicuous on our left, in the angle between the conjunction 

 of the North and South Tynes to form one majestic river, is 

 Warden Hill crowned with firs. The sides of the North Tyne 

 are prettily spotted with trees, and the slopes, excepting barer 

 scalps and ridges at intervals, are well cultivated. For such a 

 dry season the turnip crop looked promising. There is an ab- 

 sence of that great blaze of wild mustard blossoms so common in 

 several of the north Northumbrian and Scottish corn-fields. 

 Here however, in some localities, corn poppy has gained ground 

 on the cultivator to such a degree, that spots are absolutely scar- 

 let with it. This profusion I also noticed on a former year near 

 Corbridge and Dilston. On the other hand there are few field 

 thistles (Carduus arvensis), so difficult to eradicate in stiff clay 

 soils. The sides of the public roads remain in rough grass and 

 herbage, and are not trimmed up and cut as in Scotland. They 

 are overrun with Knautia arvensis, wild briar roses and brambles ; 



