Regions of English Heathland 107 



The following are the most noteworthy regions of 

 English heathland. 



1. East Anglian heaths. These occupy considerable 

 stretches of flat sandy country in north-east Norfolk and 

 south-east Suffolk on the Pliocene "crag," and again 

 in west Norfolk and north-west Suffolk on Quaternary 

 deposits overlying the chalk. On the latter grass heath 

 alternates with Callunetum and this is probably due to the 

 varying proportions of lime in the soil. Some of the grass 

 heaths approach chalk pasture in the character of their 

 vegetation. It is quite possible that the East Anglian 

 heaths represent primitive heathland which has never 

 been colonised by trees. 



2. South-eastern heaths. The heaths of the south- 

 eastern counties are developed partly on the sandy beds 

 of the Lower London Tertiaries, partly on the Lower 

 Greensand to the north and west of the Weald, and 

 partly on the Ashdown sand in the centre of the Weald. 

 They are, for the most part at any rate, derived from 

 oak-birch woodland, which stdl exists in considerable 

 quantity. The heaths of Ashdown Forest are the most 

 extensive in this region (Plates IV — YII). 



3. Heaths of the London basin. The Bagshot sand 

 and the overljring plateau gravels to the south-west of 

 London bear extensive heaths. In this region Pinus 

 sylvestris has very extensively colonised the heathland by 

 sowing itself from neighbouring plantations. Little semi- 

 natural woodland exists in the district, and it is impossible 

 to decide, at any rate at present, whether the heaths are 

 primitive or derived from woodland. 



4. Heaths of the Hampshire hasin^. The Hampshire 

 basin is a broad syncline of Tertiary rocks, consisting of 

 alternating sands and clays, occupying south Hampshire 

 and extending eastwards into Sussex, westwards into 



1 Mr W. M. Eankin has contributed the substance of these para- 

 graphs. 



