52 
EXCURSIONS, 1948 
section to search the edge of Wood Walton Fen outside the nature re- 
serve. A lai'ger section, in cliarge of the leader, first visited Connington 
Dump and later joined the section at Wood Walton Fen. All sections 
re-assembled at Wood Walton Church to which the coach returned to 
take ns to St Ives for tea. A few members returnetl to Huntingdon alter 
tea, but the remainder spent a useful evening on St Ives gravel ]hts 
until the rain fox’ced them hack to the town. We shall all remember 
tile delightful “ inquest ” at the Ceorge Hotel 'w'hen we related to 
Wilmott our finds and submitted our specimens for his determination. 
The greatest attention was centred on a strange ragwort found L. W. 
Frost and 11. P. Libbey on Connington Dump which appeared to be 
Seiiecio erucifoliusxviscosus, and on Miss Frost’s “ prize ” — six feet of 
sow thistle carried through wind and rain from the gravel-pit at St 
Ives — this Wilmott thought to be Sonchus urvensisxpalustris. Neithei 
hybrid ajipears to have been previously observed. We had found two 
lirevioiisly undescribed hybrids. 
Sunday, August 22nd. 
We had the coach with us all day and with Holme Fen as our main 
objective w’e paused for a few minutes outside Monks Wood so that 
members who had not seen Melampi/rvm cristatum on Saturday could 
see this plant. Holme Fen proved interesting, but was so much over- 
grown with bracken that only a few more energetic members of the party 
were able to penetrate far into its depth. Druce reported with surprise 
that Myrica Gale grew to five feet high here, but we saw it almost twice 
that height. A return along the load to see Dipsacus pilosus, spotted 
on the outward journey by Miss JMorgan, started the afternoon, and 
useful breaks were made later by the Old Course of the Nene near 
Ramsey where fine specimens of Sonchus palnstris were seen some five 
miles from where they were originally introduced by Lord Rothschild at 
Wood Walton Fen in 1912 and at Warboys Wood, an interesting wood 
with a more limited flora than Monks Wood. Tea was had at The Three 
Horse Shoes at Wistow after which Com. Graham thanked the leader 
for the arrangement of the excursion and for the introduction of a 
Rotanical Society standard of distance- — the dony-mile. The evening 
was spent at some interesting gravel pits at Hartford and a somewhat 
smaller party met after dinner at The George Hotel to discuss the day’s 
work. 
Monday, August 23rd. 
A much reduced party made a later start and spent a short period 
at Eaton Socon gravel-])its in Bedfordshire. Rain in the afternoon 
helped to diminish the party, but the four remaining members spent a 
useful hour by the riverside at St Neots, adding still moi'e records to the 
many made for Huntingdonshire during the week-end. 
A departure has been made from the usual custom of including re- 
cords of interesting plants seen in the report of the excursion. It is felt 
that it would be in keeping with the spirit of the members during the 
