1 78 Stapledon.—On the Plant Coinmunities of Farm Land \ 
and Plantago lance olata. It will be shown (Part II) that the majority of 
these plants are capable of gaining considerably on grass-land as the years 
go on. 
B. Plants the Seedlings of which do not attach themselves unusually 
closely to the ground. 
(a) G r amine ae. 
On poor soils Holcus lanatus and Agrostis spp. in Mid-Wales and 
Bromus hordeaceus on the Cotswolds may be fairly plentiful even in the first 
year of a ley, although they only become abundant as the rye grasses die 
off ; thus these grasses can compete to some extent with the sown species. 
(b) Other Natural Orders. 
The commonest plants ar eArenaria serpyllifolia. This annual is capable 
of spreading considerably over the ground, and under Sainfoin leys especially 
has a very gregarious habit. Veronica agrestis usually occurs on leys at 
high elevations in Mid-Wales ; observations suggest that it may there 
produce a few flowers in the autumn, but none the less live over the winter 
and flower more freely during the following spring. 
Some plants, although endowed with favourable growth forms (when 
judged by the above standards), are none the less rare or exceptional on 
leys. A good example is Agropyron repens , a tall-growing grass with an 
extensive system of stolons. This plant does not seem able to compete with 
other gregarious plants ; possibly it requires more light and air than is 
available under grass-land conditions. 
The plants which may be met with on poor leys and in dry seasons 
are for the most part ephemeral annuals which can thrive on bare patches, 
but the seedling plants of which, not having a cushion form of growth, are 
rapidly suppressed when the conditions are again favourable to the spread 
of the grasses and clovers. Colonies of these plants are frequent where 
the corn has been leyed and where, consequently, the seed e take ’ has been 
bad — very successful species then being, Stellaria media in Mid-Wales, and 
Veronica hederaefolia on the Cotswolds. 
In conclusion, it must be pointed out that a number of weed impurities 
are introduced with grass and clover seeds (especially in districts where the 
farming is poor), but if the ‘ take * is good only such as are capable of 
growing under ‘seeds’ will appear to any extent in the ley; exceptionally 
large amounts of Geranium spp. and other species marked with an asterisk 
in groups ( b ) and (c) are frequently to be attributed to this cause . 1 
1 A number of fields in Mid-Wales have been examined in the light of the impurities found in 
the samples of seeds sown. 
