102 
Brenchley . — The Weeds of Arable Land in 
C. ‘ Bake. 5 
This is a thin layer of soil, often only a few inches thick, overlying the 
chalk on the top of some of the Downs. Instead of being calcareous, this 
layer is destitute of lime, and is indeed sandy and acid in nature, of a red 
colour. The local theory is that for some reason or other the lime has been 
entirely washed out from the soil and carried down, leaving a non-calcareous 
residue. The peculiar nature of the soil is reflected in the flora, the abrupt 
change from the typical chalk flora being quite startling in its suddenness. 
Unfortunately very little of the land was accessible. The number of species 
was relatively few, and the quantity of weed was comparatively scanty. 
The actual weed flora may prove of interest : 
Brassica Sinapis ] 
Geranium sp. 1 J- dominant in places. 
Scleranthus annuus 
Anagallis arvensis— sub-dominant or distributed. 
Carduus arvensis ) 
Rumex Acetosella } occa s‘ onaL 
Poa trivialis ] 
Scandix Pecten L scarce. 
Spergula arvensis j 
The presence of Rumex Acetosella and Spergula arvensis is most sig- 
nificant, as these are unfailing indicators of an acid soil. The prevalence 
of Anagallis arvensis is also noteworthy, as on the chalky soil very few 
plants of this species are to be seen. 
While so many species are more or less definitely associated with 
particular soils, others are universally distributed, and occur on various 
types of soil, on any of which they may be dominant. A few plants, 
while universal, are more particularly associated with chalk. 
Weeds of universal occurrence. 
Alopecurus agrestis 
Anthemis arvensis 
„ cotula 
Arrhenatherum avenaceum var. 
tuberosum 
Carduus arvensis 
Cerastium vulgatum 
Chenopodium album 
Convolvulus arvensis 
Equisetum arvense 
Galium aparine 
Lolium perenne 
Poa trivialis 
Senecio vulgaris 
Sonchus arvensis 
Stellaria media 
Triticum repens 
Veronica agrestis 
„ hederaefolia 
1 The species was unfortunately not identified, but was probably either G. molle or G. dissectum. 
