663 
president’s address. 
delights in a deep and soft mud bottom. We, locally, are 
a bit mixed in the names we give to this and several other 
bog plants. S. lacustris we call Collar Gladden, because it 
was formerly much used for the manufacture of rush horse 
collars, and chair bottoms were formed of it. The Reed Mace, 
which is also used for the same purpose, we call “ Gladden 
bushes, whilst growing en masse, and Boulders when in 
bloom. 1 he Yellow Iris, a nearer relative to the true Gladden, 
we call “ Flags.” Schemas nigricans used to be commonly 
known as Black Star when it was in vogue for stitching the 
lore-mentioned soft rush horse collars. It grows on a solid 
bottom, and so is a sate guide to the Snipe shooter, as are 
also Pin rushes (J uncus communis vel effusus) ; the pith of 
which formed the wick of former day rushlights. There are 
still a few old stagers living in the parish who can remember 
gathering them for this purpose. 
1 here is an old and a true saying that a wet year is a Rat 
year, and a dry year is a Rabbit year. The ubiquitous brown 
Rat is practically an amphibious animal, whose constitution 
seems to have become acclimatised to all sorts and conditions 
of weather ; but Rabbits cannot long stand wet food. 
Constant rain in August will rapidly kill them off with liver 
disease. Eating Farthing Weed, or Marsh Rot ( Hydrocotylc 
vulgaris), which specially flourishes in wet summers, and is, 
therefore, then most temptingly displayed before them, is 
also said to be very deadly. Young Leverets are equally 
susceptible to the evil effects of wet food ; a cold and damp 
November, with heavy and frequent white frosts, kills off 
the late litters. On the adjoining common of Honing, 
dead young Rabbits have been found beneath the nibbled 
leaves of deadly Nightshade (.-1. belladonna), although animals 
are generally supposed to devour this plant with impunity. 
Reeds, and in fact, all marsh — and water — plants, flourish 
most in wet summers. Reed growing on a hard bottom and 
in deep water is the most valuable, because an inch of reed 
