Moss : Changes in the Halifax Flora. 



IOI 



Cowbane is found in the upland doughs in shallow streams with 

 swift currents and stony beds. Such clough plants were shown, 

 and were admitted to have been, least molested by man, and 

 were almost identical with those of Bolton's time. It is beside 

 the mark to object that the Cowbane is always found at lower 

 levels than the reservoirs at the clough heads, as this, owing 1 

 to the great increase of reservoirs in late years, almost neces- 

 sarily applies to clough plants in general, such as Trollius, 

 Cardamine amara, and Stellaria nemorum ; yet who would 

 assert that these plants are not examples of the primitive flora ? 

 Some particular stations of CE. crocata can, however, be cited 

 to which the objection does not apply, such as one in Horse- 

 bridge Clough, at 900 feet above sea-level, and another at the 

 top of Ogden Clough, 1,200 feet high. It is absurd to speak of 

 substitution here. CE. fistulosa, admitted to be a ' lowland 

 open-marsh ' plant, does not occur in rocky clough heads at so 

 great an altitude. There was no need to quote the case of 

 Typha. The Reed-mace might replace the Cowbane on an 

 alluvial flat, or at the edge of a dam, but never on a steep, 

 stony hill-side. As well mig-ht one expect it to displace the 

 seaweeds in a Sargasso Sea. 



It seems to be suggested — though it is difficult to quite catch 

 the meaning of a series of involved, rhetorical questions — that the 

 fact that Bolton mentions not such a fine striking plant as 

 the Cowbane, whereas he recorded an inconspicuous Moenchia 

 is at least some evidence against the presence of the Cowbane 

 in Halifax in 1775. But there are many conspicuous plants 

 besides the Cowbane unmentioned by Bolton, of which I here 

 append a list. Substituting the name of any of these for the 

 Cowbane, the fallaciousness of the above line of reasoning w ill 

 be at once apparent : — 



Ranunculus Flammula, 1862.* Senecio Jacobaea, 1867. 



Ranunculus acris, 1844. Senecio aquaticus, 1867. 



Ranunculus repens, 1844. Cnicus lanceolatus, 1867. 



Cardamine pratensis, 1867. Cnicus palustris, 1867. 



Lychnis dioica, 1867. Cnicus arvensis, 1867. 



Stellaria Holostea, 1852. Centaurea nigra, 1867, 



Trifolium pratense, 1867. Crepis paludosa, 1X40. 



Lotus uliginosus, [831. Hieraciiim Pilosella, 1845. 



Myrrhis odorata, 1833. Hieracium boreale, 1839. 



Anthriscus sylvestris, 1830. Hypochaeris radicata, [887 (sic). 



Heracleum Sphondvlium, 1845. Leontodon autumnalis, 1S67. 

 Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum, 1867. Erica tetralix, 18(17. 



*The date is thai of the first Halifax record [Sec [5], 



1901 April 1 . 



