The New Forest Heaths 109 



sands contain appreciable quantities of iron silicate. The 

 water from springs in these beds is frequently red-brown 

 in colour. In places the limit between the six inches 

 of surface soil and the subsoil is marked by a layer of 

 ferruginous " pan." 



The grass-heath association occupies but a small 

 fraction of the area, and is often in close 

 relation with scrub and woodland of the dry 

 oak type, from which it has probably degenerated; in 

 other places grass heath is being invaded by Callunetum. 

 The area of grass heath has been much reduced of 

 recent years by the extensive strawberry cultivation in 

 the neighbourhood of Southampton. Grrass heath also 

 occurs as a late stage of the sand dune succession. The 

 composition of the association presents no remarkable 

 features. 



The heath association proper is characterised by an 

 overwhelming dominance of Galluna. The 

 as^a^l^atlon. ^^S gives fairly close but rather stunted 

 growth, not attaining the luxuriant knee- 

 deep growth of the Pennine and Scottish moors. On 

 the driest spots Erica cinerea is freely mixed with the 

 dominant; in moister places Erica Tetralix takes its 

 place. In the west of the region, from the borders of 

 Dorset to near Bournemouth, the pretty ciliate heath {Erica 

 ciliaris) occurs, mainly in association with E. Tetralix in 

 the damper places. This species is a feature of Wareham 

 heath, and occurs again in Cornwall. The general floristic 

 composition is not remarkable. A feature of the Hamp- 

 shire heaths is the abundance of Ulex minor, which creeps 

 on the surface of the soil. Ulex eii/ropasios is rarely 

 common beyond the immediate vicinity of cottages. Ulex 

 Gallii, which is practically absent from the Wealden area 

 to the east, shows a steady increase from east to west of 

 the region, corresponding with its western distribution in 

 the country generally. 



