THE shepherd's PURSE AND CULTIVATION 25 



The portion of it I have to refer to is a bed of sandy glacial gravel, 

 rising above the peat level of the Ancholme fen around. 



In the days before the foundation, and till long afterwards, New- 

 stead was an island, called Euckholme, i.e., Rook-island, in the 

 charter conveying it. There is a large rookery on the old island 

 still. In the middle of one of its pastures, even now of only 

 medium quality, is a round barrow, most probably of late Neo- 

 lithic or early Bronze Age. Not very far away from it is found a 

 grass- covered gravel-pit from which the material for the barrow 

 was most undoubtedly taken. Geologically they are just the 

 same. When it w^as first or last used it is quite impossible to say. 

 It is far larger than would be required for supplying the barrow 

 material, but no doubt it was requisitioned later by the Priory 

 'people when they made their " causeys," as they rightly called 

 them, to Cadney on the north, and to Hibaldstow on the south, 

 over the fen level. There is no evidence beyond the fact that the 

 pit is there, and that such a gravel w^as certainly obtained for the 

 purpose. This also is the only old pit near, and heavy carriage 

 was an almost insuperable difficulty in early times. Let this be 

 as it may, the close pasture has conquered all the pit, which was 

 originally twelve feet deep at least, with the exception of the steep 

 slope of its former face. There with difficulty, and greatly aided 

 by the steep incline, the following species still retain a foothold: — 

 Alchemilla arvensis, Cajjsella, Cerastium arvense, Erophila vul- 

 garis, Geranium molle, Stellaria media, Trifolium duhium, T. stri- 

 atum, Veronica arvensis. 



The Shepherd's Purse is quite typical in form, but in size and 

 colour it is abnormal. It is purple-stalked instead of green, with 

 purple sepals and purple or purple-white petals. It is a pure 

 pascua form. It must be clear to any geologist, soil-student 

 or botanist, who studies it, that this pit has not been used for 

 ages. Why, then, have these species retained their hold so long, 

 despite the all-conquering turf around? Stock — sheep, espe- 

 cially — rabbits, and birds seeking grit-stones, have all helped to 

 keep little broken patches on the slope of the old working face, 

 such as are found to-day. I myself have seen rooks from the 

 rookery over the hedge " gritting " on the old pit-face after snow 

 has melted there earlier than elsewhere. What is more important 

 still is that this pasture, even under modern cultivation, is only 

 of medium quality. It can only grow young stock well ; it cannot 

 fatten them ; therefore it must have been a very poor pasture 

 indeed before it reached its present state of fair productivity. 

 Now, while it remained unenclosed and fairly natural, it w^ould cer- 

 tainly be the home of such species as are now forced to survive on 

 the old working face of the gravel-pit. 



Between the pit where this curious i)ascua form of Shepherd's 

 Purse is found and my house, with a wide mass of carr peat lying 

 between them, there is another shallow gravel-pit. It is in the 

 same rock-bed, sandy glacial gravel, but is of much later date, after 

 road-stoning came into vogue. It, too, has not been used for 

 many years, and is now fully grown over by grass. It is in a 



